Eddie Redmayne's world is about to get more magical.
The newly-minted Oscar winner has reportedly been offered the lead role of Newt Scamander in the Harry Potter spinoff Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, according to Variety. Warner Bros. declined to comment on the report.
J.K. Rowling penned the script, making it her first jaunt into Hollywood screenwriting. David Yates (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part one and two) will be directing the film.
[seealso slug="harry-potter-unanswered-questions"]
Redmayne has long been the rumored frontrunner for the role, but was holding out until he saw the final script, reports say. The actor shot to the A-list this year after winning a Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (based on the eponymous 2001 book) takes place in New York, 70 years before Harry Potter is born. It follows the adventures of Newt Scamander, a magizoologist who studies magical creatures. Sales for the book increased more than 100,000 percent in 2013 when Rowling announced she was writing the screenplay for the upcoming film adaptation.
Before announcing the adaptation, Rowling had fun teasing the news out to fans via cryptic tweets.
Cry, foe! Run amok! Fa awry! My wand won’t tolerate this nonsense.— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) October 6, 2014
Something to ponder while I'm away X— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) October 6, 2014
"Newt Scamander's History of New York Fauna: One town, my tale" Warmer.— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) October 7, 2014
With no set date for the film's release, Rowling's teasing may have only just begun.