Ezra Miller eyes 'Harry Potter' spinoff 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' (EXCLUSIVE)
By Variety:
Already a part of Warner Bros.' DC universe as the Flash, Ezra Miller looks to have found his way into the studio's other major franchise for the foreseeable future.
Sources tell Variety that Miller is in early talks for the role of Kredan in Warner Bros.' upcoming "Harry Potter" spin-off, "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" starring Eddie Redmayne.
Warner bros. had no comment on the casting.
It is unknown how close talks are on closing a deal but sources add that for weeks Miller has always been the favorite and in the last week as emerged as the choice for the role.
Set in New York roughly seven decades before Harry Potter's saga starts, "Fantastic Beasts" is based on the Hogwarts textbook of the same name and follows the adventures of its author, Newt Scamander. Scamander is described as a "magiczoologist," which in the "Harry Potter" realm is a person who studies magical creatures. Besides Scamander, there are four other main roles — two American girls and two American boys — that the studio is looking to cast.
David Heyman will produce with J.K. Rowling penning the script.
"Although it will be set in the worldwide community of witches and wizards where I was so happy for 17 years, 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' is neither a prequel nor a sequel to the 'Harry Potter' series but an extension of the wizarding world," Rowling explained.
In the story, Kredan is a person with magical powers who encounters magizoologist Newt Scamander (Redmayne) when he stops in New York City on his travels to find and document magical creatures.
Katherine Waterston is already on board for the role of Tina with David Yates directing.
Two pivotal roles in the film have yet to be cast: Queenie, Tina's younger sister, and Jacob, a rival of Scamander's.
Sources tell Variety Alison Sudol is Yates' choice for the role of Queenie, though insiders add no actor has been cast and no offer has been given for that role and that the studio may still be considering an actress that's more established. As for Jacob, sources say Josh Gadd and Michael Cera are meeting next week to see who will take the role of Scamander's rival.
After having star-making roles in "We Need to Talk About Kevin" and "Perks of Being a Wallflower," Miller is now ready to make the next step following the studio's announcement that he will be playing the Flash in the DC universe, making his debut in "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice."
Miller was most recently seen in "The Stanford Prison Experiment" and also has Universal's "Trainwreck" coming out next month. He is repped by Paradigm and Hamilton Hodell.
The film is set to bow on Nov. 18, 2016.
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