By Trey Witzel, Columnist
On Sept. 12, some of you may have felt an earthquake on campus.
In reality it was just me jumping for joy at the news release that there is going to be a new Harry Potter movie… kind of.
While the movie has nothing to do with Harry or his friends, it is set in the universe of the Harry Potter series.
It is set in New York City in the 1920s. The main character for this series (yes, it is supposed to be a series) is “Newt Scamander,” the author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a prominent textbook for wizarding students.
What does this mean for the Harry Potter fandom?
Is this a good thing or just a money grab?
This movie is going to open up the entire history and world of the Harry Potter universe.
J.K. Rowling herself, the author of the seven Harry Potter books, will write the screenplay.
This is her story to tell.
If someone else was the main writer for this new movie, I might be more inclined to call it a gimmick, but Newt Scamander is actually one of Rowling’s favorite characters.
Rowling has something special in store for this new series.
One potentially rich vein for quality material is the fact that Newt was actually the Headmaster at Hogwarts for a time; his successor was actually Albus Dumbledore’s predecessor.
I think the plot for this series will begin right after the publishing of Fantastic Beasts and lead up to Newt becoming Headmaster.
Regardless, this means one thing: more movies from the Harry Potter universe.
They’re back.
The possibilities for Warner Bros. seems endless.
They could make movies based on the creation of Hogwarts from the perspective of the school’s four founders or a movie about the First Wizarding War.
The chains have been broken. We are no longer constrained to Harry’s life.
This means that I get to stand in line for another midnight premiere.
And for that, I am thankful.
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