Which screenplay did J.K. Rowling write for the 2016 film that began the Fantastic Beasts series?

J.K. Rowling wrote the screenplay for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the 2016 film that began the Fantastic Beasts series.

The film follows Newt Scamander, a magizoologist who arrives in 1920s New York with a case containing magical creatures. When several creatures escape, Newt becomes involved in a larger conflict involving magical law, secrecy, and the threat associated with Gellert Grindelwald. Eddie Redmayne plays Newt in the film.

The title comes from a fictional Hogwarts textbook listed among Harry Potter’s schoolbooks. Rowling had previously published a short charity book using that title in 2001, but the 2016 project expanded the concept into an original screenplay and cinematic story.

The film is sometimes confused with the later screenplay Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. That is the second film in the series. The 2016 title is the first film and Rowling’s screenwriting debut.