J.K. Rowling's New Harry Potter Movies: 'Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them' Will Be a Trilogy

When it was announced that J.K. Rowling would be returning to the Harry Potter universe to pen Newt Scamander's adventures in creating the wizarding textbook (and 2001 Rowling spin-off book) Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the Pot-heads of the world rejoiced.

Well, get ready to rejoice some more, because Mr. Scamander's adventures are coming to the big screen as a trilogy, according to a New York Times report.

In an article about Warner Brothers CEO Kevin Tsujihara, the Times dropped a few nuggets about the Fantastic Beasts movies, as well as Tsujihara's recruitment of Rowling to return to the Potter lore.

"Since last March, when he won a bitter succession battle to become C.E.O., Mr. Tsujihara, 49, has surprised Hollywood with bold moves that belie his nice-guy demeanor," the article states. "He persuaded J.K. Rowling to expand the Harry Potter movie universe, something most people thought was a nonstarter.

"Wherever he learned the skill, his deft touch became clear to Hollywood's creative community last September," the article continued. "That is when Warner announced that Ms. Rowling had agreed to adapt for the big screen her Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a 2001 book billed as one of Harry Potter's Hogwarts textbooks. Three megamovies are planned. The main character will be a 'magizoologist' named Newt Scamander. The stories, neither prequels or sequels, will start in New York about seven decades before the arrival of Mr. Potter and his pals."

Well that's sure interesting. It seems that the new movies will not be taking place in Great Britain, as the Potter movies did, but right here in the good ol' U. S. of A. Predictably, they will be set far in the past, before Harry and his pals were even a twinkle in their parents' eyes.

The article delves into a little more detail about just how big of a part Tsujihara played in getting Rowling back.

"Convincing the famously independent Ms. Rowling to dive back into film was a coup. 'When I say he made 'Fantastic Beasts' happen, it isn't P.R.-speak but the literal truth,' Ms. Rowling said in response to emailed questions. 'We had one dinner, a follow-up telephone call, and then I got out the rough draft that I'd thought was going to be an interesting bit of memorabilia for my kids and started rewriting!'"

How hyped are you for a new breath of fresh Harry Potter air? Or do you think a trilogy might be a bit of overkill? Let us know in the comments.