David Yates directed the 2016 film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, written by J.K. Rowling.
The film marked Rowling’s screenwriting debut and expanded the wizarding world beyond the Harry Potter story. It is set in New York City in 1926 and follows Newt Scamander, played by Eddie Redmayne, after magical creatures escape from his case.
Yates had already directed four Harry Potter films, beginning with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in 2007. His return connected the Fantastic Beasts production to the earlier film series, although the cast and period setting were different.
The film’s title comes from the fictional Hogwarts textbook written by Newt Scamander. In the Harry Potter books, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is presented as a school text; Rowling later developed that fictional book into a screenplay and film.