Which J.K. Rowling screenplay was based on a textbook mentioned in Harry Potter?

J.K. Rowling’s screenplay Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was based on the fictional Hogwarts textbook of the same name. The book is credited in the Harry Potter story to Newt Scamander, and its title appears on Harry’s school reading list.

The 2016 film was Rowling’s screenwriting debut and expanded the wizarding world beyond Harry’s school years. It is set in 1926, decades before the main Harry Potter story, and follows Newt Scamander after he arrives in New York with a case containing magical creatures.

The film is not a direct adaptation of a conventional narrative novel. Rowling transformed the brief fictional textbook concept into an original screenplay with new characters, locations, and conflicts. Eddie Redmayne played Newt in the film, which began a planned series of stories about the character.

The title can be confused with Quidditch Through the Ages and The Tales of Beedle the Bard, two other fictional books associated with Rowling’s wizarding world. Only Fantastic Beasts became the basis for her screenplay.