Which screenplay did J.K. Rowling write as the basis for the 2016 film about Newt Scamander?
Answer
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
J.K. Rowling wrote the screenplay for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the 2016 film about magizoologist Newt Scamander. It was her screenwriting debut and expanded the wizarding world beyond the Harry Potter story.
The film is set mainly in New York in 1926, decades before Harry attends Hogwarts. Newt arrives with a magical case containing fantastic creatures, but several escape, bringing him into conflict with American magical authorities and the wider tensions of the era.
The title comes from a fictional Hogwarts textbook. In Rowling’s original wizarding-world book, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is credited to Newt Scamander. The 2016 screenplay uses that fictional book as the starting point for a new narrative rather than directly adapting its short catalogue of creatures.
The film launched a prequel series. Its sequel titles are The Crimes of Grindelwald and The Secrets of Dumbledore, both also written by Rowling.