Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them notably had an older collection of characters than the Harry Potter films. No longer following teenagers, this film was more about older witches and wizards. This won’t be the whole story for the next film however.
Pottermore has recently announced the news that there will be an open casting call on the look out for fresh young faces to be in their upcoming Fantastic Beasts film, the latest installment in the Harry Potter Cinematic Universe. This isn’t the only time a major franchise has done this; Star Wars did this at the start of Episode VII looking for young, more unknown actors to play Finn and Rey, and the Harry Potter films themselves cast Evanna Lynch as Luna Lovegood and Faith Wood-Blagrove as Modesty in the previous Fantastic Beasts in the same way.
We can assume from the characters they’re trying to cast that in the next film or so we’ll see young teenage versions of main character Newt Scamander and friend Leta Lestrange (relation to Helena Bonham-Carter’s Bellatrix), as well as Albus Dumbledore and close friend Gellert Grindewald (who later become enemies).
This is exciting as it looks like we won’t be simply confined to New York in the 1920s anymore, as interesting and refreshing as that may well have been. Warner Bros is now branching out their Harry Potter films to include more of its rich magical history only alluded to in the books and films.
If any of you are lucky enough to be between the ages of 13 and 18, you should absolutely give it a go!
To apply for the Fantastic Beasts open casting call, email casting.prod@wb.uc-ns.com with a recent colour photograph, (i.e., taken within the last two months), contact telephone number, your home address and date of birth. Anyone under 18 must ask a parent or guardian to send the application.
No previous acting experience is necessary, but applicants need to be eligible to work in the UK (meaning they must be a UK, Irish or EU passport holder), and be available for filming between August and November 2017.The closing date for applications is Tuesday, 20 June 2017 at midnight GMT. If there is interest in pursuing an application further, the applicant will hear back within 14 days of their original submission. While every applicant will be considered, only those passing the initial consideration round will be contacted.
The film is set decades before Harry Potter’s adventures at Hogwarts, and marks an increasingly dark time for the wizarding world.
The sequel to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is slated for release 16 November 2018, and filming begins this summer.