Katherine Waterston has been cast as the female lead in Harry Potter movie prequel Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them.
The Inherent Vice actress will play the witch Tina – short for Porpentina – in the film, which is set in New York’s secret magical community around 70 years before Harry arrives at Hogwarts.
The 35-year-old actress will star alongside Eddie Redmayne, who has recently been cast in the role of “magizoologist” Newt Scamander.
The film will be directed by David Yates, who also directed the final four Harry Potter films. David Heyman, who produced all eight Harry Potter films, will also produce Fantastic Beasts – the first in a trilogy.
The film will be JK Rowling’s screenwriting debut. The story is adapted from her 2001 book Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, which also features in the first Harry Potter novel as one of the wizarding students’ textbooks.
Earlier this month, Rowling hinted that an American version of Hogwarts will feature in the film.
In a Q&A session on Twitter, she was asked the name of the “US school” and replied: “That information will be revealed in due course.”
@jk_rowling So what's the name of the US school?
— Jonte Rosén (@MrBanankartong) June 6, 2015
Two main roles in the film have yet to be cast: Tina’s younger sister, Queenie, and Scamander’s rival, Jacob.
Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them will be released on 18 November 2016.
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