Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: First plot details about Harry Potter prequel emerge

'Eccentric magizoologist Newt Scamander comes to New York with his trusty weathered case...'

The official logo for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, due out 18 November 2016

Excitement is growing for the upcoming Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, especially now that filming has begun.

Earlier this week, Entertainment Weekly released the first official image of Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander. Now they’ve released the first details of the upcoming film's plot.

According to their article: “Eccentric magizoologist Newt Scamander comes to New York with his trusty weathered case.

Eddie Redmayne joins JK Rowling's magical universe as Newt Scamander (Pic: Entertainment Weekly) (Entertainment Weekly)

“This case is one of those way-way-way-bigger-on-the-inside magical devices, and within are expansive habitats for a collection of rare and endangered magical creatures from Newt’s travels around globe.

“He discovers the American wizarding community is fearfully hiding from Muggles (who are called ‘No-Maj’ in the US) and the threat of public exposure is an even graver concern than in the UK.

“Fantastic Beasts is the story of what happens when this uniquely skilled English wizard travels to wiz-phobic America and a variety of his creatures, some quite dangerous … get out of their case.”

Shooting is already underway but fans can expect to wait a little while yet for the first trailer. In the meantime, the film’s official and decidedly teethy logo has been released to whet your appetite.

Rowling recently hinted that Newt will meet pupils who were educated at an American Hogwarts, but stopped short of revealing its exact name. The most interesting part is that apparently “indigenous magic was important in the founding of the school”.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the first of at least three films, arrives in UK cinemas on 18 November 2016.