On September 12, Warner Bros. announced a new screenplay, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, written by J.K. Rowling. The plot is set in the same witch and wizard universe as Harry Potter, and follows the story of Newt Scamander, the author of the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them textbook, which is a requirement for first year Hogwarts students. The film is not directly related to Harry Potter; instead, it serves as an extension to his world. It begins in New York, 70 years prior to Harry Potter.

J.K. Rowling’s new direction should be very appealing to fans of the Harry Potter movies. A common disappointment with the Harry Potter films is they often cut out character development scenes and weren’t true to the original plot. Now, with Rowling writing the screenplay herself, this shouldn’t be much of an issue.

The storyline is creative and has the potential for adventure and the same wittiness as in the previous Harry Potter movies. The success of the movie is not in question as series continuations have historically been able to feed off of the series’ prior fame, regardless of actual quality (Star Wars, The Hobbit, etc.).

That said, while the movie has a lot of good things working for it, any true prediction as to the quality of film will not come for a long while.