By: Malena Esposito

“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” was written by J.K. Rowling in 2001. Fifteen years later, the novel has finally become a film adaptation, set for release later this year on November 18th. Taking place in America in 1926, star of the film, Newt Scamander must navigate his way through New York in attempt to locate the creatures that have mistakenly been released.

Warner Bro. Pictures confirmed in August that a second “Fantastic Beasts” movie is already in production, scheduled for a worldwide premiere in Fall 2018. On October 13th, fans gathered in London for a special “Fantastic Beasts Q&A” event held at the Empire IMAX Cinema in Leicester Square. J.k. Rowling, the author of the series as well as the author of the world famous Harry Potter series, was with David Yates, the director, and David Heyman, the producer, when she made the announcement. “We always knew there was going to be more than one movie. We’ve now done the plotting correctly, and we’re pretty sure it’s going to be five movies.” It was originally thought that the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise would be a trilogy. This is Rowling’s first experience as a screenwriter. She also revealed that the films will explore the history of characters Gellert Grindelwald and Albus Dumbledore. In addition to these announcements, fans attending the London event were given an exclusive look at the first ten minutes of “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”.

In the spirit of JK Rowling’s books turned into movies, IMAX Theaters everywhere will be playing all eight Harry Potter movies for one week, beginning October 13th. However, for the Marbles IMAX Theater in Downtown Raleigh, the movies will be playing for an additional week, ending on October 27th.