J.K. Rowling Announces Screenwriting Debut: Feels "Very Protective" Of Harry Potter Spinoff, Doesn't Want It "Realized By Another Writer"

J.K. Rowling is got a movie deal and will make her screenwriting debut, she announced.

In the just-inked movie deal, Harry Potter author will turn a Harry Potter spinoff into a film. Surprise, surprise. But rather than letting someone else adapt the book, Rowling's doing the work herself.

"Having lived for so long in my fictional universe, I feel very protective of it," she said.

J.K. Rowling will adapt "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them", which is based off Harry Potter's Hogwarts textbook of the same title, into a film for the movie deal with Warner Bros.

Rowling explained, "It all started when Warner Bros. came to me with the suggestion of turning 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' into a film. I thought it was a fun idea, but the idea of seeing Newt Scamander, the supposed author of 'Fantastic Beasts', realized by another writer was difficult. Having lived for so long in my fictional universe, I feel very protective of it and I already knew a lot about Newt. As hard-core Harry Potter fans will know, I liked him so much that I even married his grandson, Rolf, to one of my favourite characters from the Harry Potter series, Luna Lovegood."

Thus, Rowling pitched her own idea for the film, rather than standing back, as she did with the "Harry Potter" movies. : "As I considered Warners' proposal, an idea took shape that I couldn't dislodge. That is how I ended up pitching my own idea for a film to Warner Bros.

J.K. Rowling explained the premise and plot of the film and addressed how it is different from Harry Potter, saying, "Although it will be set in the worldwide community of witches and wizards where I was so happy for seventeen 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. The laws and customs of the hidden magical society will be familiar to anyone who has read the Harry Potter books or seen the films, but Newt's story will start in New York, seventy years before Harry's gets underway."

Warner Bros.' Kevin Tsujihara will support J.K. Rowling in the project.

Are you excited? Will head out to theaters when Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them finally debuts?