A Tuesday press release announced that Scholastic will publish the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them screenplay as a book. Readers across the globe will get their hands on the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them screenplay on the same date: November 19.
By now, Potterheads are well acquainted with Fantastic Beasts . The book first appeared in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone as a required text for first-year Hogwarts students. In 2001, J.K. Rowling published a version of the book, which purported to be Harry's personal copy, using the pen name Newt Scamander.
Set in 1920s New York City, the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them movie follows Scamander on his hunt for escaped magical creatures. With Eddie Redmayne cast in the lead role, Fantastic Beasts will launch a new trilogy of wizarding world adventures when it hits theaters on November 18.
The eighth installment of Rowling's game-changing franchise, a stageplay titled Harry Potter and the Cursed Child , is set receive the same script-publishing treatment in July. Rowling co-wrote the script with John Tiffany and Jack Thorne. The Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Special Rehearsal Edition Script will debut simultaneously in the U.S. and U.K. on July 31. It will only be available for a limited time, however, as the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Definitive Edition Script will replace it at a later date.
November may not be the first time Rowling has published Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, but the new book will be her first published screenplay. Ellie Berger, President of Scholastic's U.S. Trade Division, says the publisher is excited about the screenplay's impact:
With any new writing from J.K. Rowling, we know that we are not only engaging her vast fan base, but are also building a new generation of readers. The much anticipated release of the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them movie marks another magical and exciting moment for film lovers and readers everywhere, and we are absolutely delighted to publish J.K. Rowling’s screenplay debut.
The Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them screenplay will be available on November 19 wherever books are sold.
Images: Warner Bros.; Scholastic
