JK Rowling, author of the Harry Potter book series, is going to write three films based on the 54-page Hogwarts textbook she wrote in 2001. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is following in the footsteps of J.R.R Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings prequel The Hobbit, and will be divided into three stories.
The story of the new trilogy will take place in New York 70 years before the events of Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone, the first Harry Potter book. The story will center around Newt Scamander, a "Magizoologist" who specializes in the study of magical creatures. Rowling said it is neither a prequel nor a sequel, but "an extension of the wizarding world."
The series was announced in September as a project, but last Saturday Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara told the New York Times that the films would be a trilogy. JK Rowling explained in an interview with New York Times that it was Tsujihara who convinced her to make the films.