Fans who watched Harry Potter over the weekend with one of their regular marathons woke up to a new video from J.K. Rowling and the team behind Fantastic Beasts. And what Rowling gave us was a glimpse into the magical history of North America.
“The wizarding world you thought you knew is much larger than you imagined.”
Whew.
It’s fair to say many Harry Potter fans have read the books numerous times and immersed themselves into its lure. But part of the continuous draw are Rowling’s plans to expand the universe and has already done so with the announcement of it’s-not-a-prequel-but-feels-like-a-prequel Fantastic Beasts. With the first of the new trilogy set to debut later this year, fans will begin to learn more and more about the history of magic in North America.
But if you can’t wait until movie release to dive in, there was another (now deleted) announcement fans be able to read four short stories as soon as 2pm GMT TOMORROW.
From Entertainment Weekly:
As the video mentions, The History of Magic in North America will cover a number of topics in America’s magical history including:
—The U.S. Hogwarts, Ilvermorny
—Skin-walkers, a Native American legend
—The Salem witch trials, a formative event for the country’s national magical identity
—Our Ministry of Magic, the Magical Congress of the United States of America
All of which is leading to the arrival of Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) in New York and the events of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them on Nov. 18.
I would imagine these new stories will set in motion future movies, plays and books. Especially when you consider earlier this year Rowling revealed several new wizarding schools all across the globe.
What makes J.K. Rowling’s universe so unique compared to other adored fantasy-fictions like The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars is she’s still able expand the universe she originally created. George Lucas thankfully sold off Star Wars to Disney and J.R.R Tolkien died long before he could flesh out his expansive Middle Earth universe. Rowling is in a position where she can appeal to current Harry Potter fans but also bring new generations and cultures into her Wizarding World.
Strap in, folks. This is going to be a fun ride.
