Who is the protagonist of J.K. Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts film series?

Newt Scamander is the protagonist of J.K. Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts film series.

Newt is a magizoologist, a specialist in magical creatures, and is played by Eddie Redmayne in the films. The first film, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, was released in 2016 and follows Newt after he arrives in New York with a case containing magical creatures. The film expands the Wizarding World beyond Harry Potter’s school years.

Newt also has a connection to an earlier in-universe textbook. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is presented as a Hogwarts textbook written by Newt Scamander, and Rowling published a charity version of that fictional book in 2001. Although Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald become central to later film events, Newt remains the series’ named lead character.