Newt Scamander finally has his counterpart in the upcoming Harry Potter spin-off “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.” Warner Bros. announced June 15 that Katherine Waterston will play the role of Tina, or Porpentina, a witch who resides in the U.S.. Porpentina meets Newt Scamander, played by Eddie Redmayne, in New York during his exhibition to locate and document the world’s magical creatures. Porpentina is described as “grounded” and will be Newt’s love interest SPOILER ALERT and later his wife.
Harry Potter fans have been going nuts over the film ever since it was announced that J.K. Rowling herself would be penning the script back in 2013. There is little known about the actual plot except that it will focus on Hufflepuff Newt Scamander’s journey as he travels the world writing his magizoology book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them which would become a required textbook in Hogwarts. J.K. Rowling wrote the actual textbook for the charity Comic Relief in 2001. At least part of the film will take place in the U.S., specifically New York, and there will be at least a mention of an American wizarding school. It will take place 70 years before Harry’s journey. David Yates will return to direct the film and it will be produced by David Heyman, J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter screenwriter Steven Kloves and Lionel Wigram.
Waterston is known best for her roles in Boardwalk Empire where she played Emma Harrow and Inherent Vice as Shasta Fay Hepworth. The British actress is also known for her roles in The Babysitters, Micheal Clayton and Robot and Frank. She will be playing Christian Brennan in Steve Jobs directed by Danny Boyle.
There is no further casting news as of yet, but Rowling reported on Twitter that she “couldn’t be happier” with Waterston as Porpentina.
Feature image by New Cinema. Book cover by Bloomsbury Publishing.
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