Fantastic Beasts to reveal new magical power from the Harry Potter universe

Newcomer Alison Sudol plays Queenie Goldstein - a witch with a yet unseen ability in J.K. Rowling's universe

Alison Sudol

J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World is as deep as the ocean; a totally immersive world of mythos and lore to dive into.

Yet, the Harry Potter author's still managed to find a way to surprise us, working in a brand new type of magic into the upcoming spin-off film, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which marks her first foray into screenwriting.

In the film, newcomer Alison Sudol plays one Queenie Goldstein; the free spirit working a menial desk job at the Magical Congress of the United States of America, in the same department as her sister Tina (Katherine Waterston).

She's in possession of an ability yet unseen in the Potter universe; though she's a Legilimens - a mind reader - it's not the usual intrusive kind. The kind Severus Snape used when teaching Harry Potter the art of Occlumency, a way to resist any attempt to breach his mind. Instead, Queenie's ability is always turned on - like an antenna - allowing her to pick up on the thoughts and emotions of those around her.

"She’s basically a complete and utter magical empath," Sudol told Entertainment Weekly. "She’s able to read people — so it’s not just reading somebody’s thoughts. She’s can read into someone’s story, she can see people’s goals. And so even though she’s able to do magic with her wand, a lot of her magic is actually internal, which makes her a different type of wizard or witch."

"And she’s incredibly fun, playful, joyful, and free-spirited, kind and wise, and also has a sort of stillness about her because she’s always tuning into people, so she’s quite an interesting character to play — very vivacious and lively, yet very centered and aware.”

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them hits UK cinemas 18 November.