J.K. Rowling

Two decades ago, could any of us have predicted the future that awaited Harry Potter? One massively successful book expanded to seven, which begat a theme park, a universe’s worth of merchandising, eight films, a play, and a new tangentially related franchise. And for those fans who still want more Potter, there is Pottermore.

J.K. Rowling is a pretty gracious woman. Beyond giving us the Wizarding World, regularly answering Harry Potter fan questions on Twitter, and annually apologizing for character deaths, she also gives back a little. In 2008, the author wrote an idea for a Potter prequel and auctioned it off to raise funds for a literacy charity. Now someone has stolen that rare prequel, because the world is full of ungrateful muggles.

How do you make a successful Harry Potter prequel without Harry Potter? J.K. Rowling’s new spinoff, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, travels back nearly 70 years to 1926 before the events of the first Potter movie to tell a whole new story in a new setting with (almost) all new characters. Reviving the magical universe from the second biggest franchise of all time is a pretty risky move, but Fantastic Beasts does a good job of blending the familiar with the new.

J.K. Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them won’t just be a five-part return to the magical world of the Harry Potter movies; it has the potential to be groundbreaking for Hollywood diversity.

The very first Harry Potter movie opened 15 years ago next month. Fifteen years. A lot has changed in blockbuster movies over the past decade and a half – superheroes are now front and center, CG has advanced to remarkable degrees, and remakes, prequels and spin-offs are filling the movie theaters. But J.K. Rowling’s magical world was one of the most original series of its time. Before Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone opened on November 18, 2001, the only major movies for kids born in the ‘80s and ‘90s were animated films from Disney and Dreamworks. The 21st Century also brought with it the Star Wars prequels and the Lord of the Rings series, but Harry Potter introduced a whole new era of fantasy blockbusters for kids (Chronicles of Narnia, The Golden Compass, Twilight, etc.). It gave millennials the first major family franchise of their generation.

A few weeks ago, Daniel Radcliffe gave a very diplomatic answer when asked if he would ever consider a return to the Harry Potter franchise. And while the actor admitted that he would never close the door to the possibility — for the right script and with the right people involved — it turns out he may not have a franchise to return to. As reported by io9, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling told reporters at the premiere of London stage show Harry Potter and the Cursed Child that her beloved character was done after the events of the play.

It’s been several years since Muggles had any major new Harry Potter content to enjoy, but after a brief dry period, J.K. Rowling’s world of magic is on the verge of a major comeback. (And just in time; I was beginning to regret this lightning bolt tattoo I got on my forehead.) Potter himself returns in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a two-part West End stage play based on a story by Rowling, and the HPCU (that’s “Harry Potter Cinematic Universe,” y’all, c’mon) returns to big screens this fall with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a prequel to the main Potter franchises based on another book by Rowling.

In case you needed a bit of a cry today, J.K. Rowling has taken to Twitter to share the one little piece of secret information she shared with the late, great actor Alan Rickman to help him better portray Professor Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films. As Rickman previously revealed a few years back, Rowling gave him a piece of advice to help him better understand the complexities of his character, who is far more than the shrewd, dodgy potions master he first appears to be.

The final Harry Potter novel was full of grand battles and grander revelations, but it also featured a tiny detail that radically changed the saga’s timeline. Although J.K. Rowling’s first book in the beloved series was published in 1997 and the final book in 2007, a date on a gravestone revealed that the events of the final novel take place in 1997. That means that Harry Potter himself was born in 1980. Which means that he’s 35 in 2015. And according to Rowling herself, that makes today, September 1, 2015, the first day of school at Hogwarts for Harry’s eldest son.

The saga of Harry Potter may have come to a definitive end with 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2,' but his mysterious wizarding world will live on! We already knew that original Potter Author J.K. Rowling would be making her screenwriting debut with upcoming spinoff film 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,' but now we know when we'll be able to see the movie!

As a Harry Potter fan myself, some of the fans just need to settle down with this recent interview the authoress had with Wonderland Magazine.

It’s been two months since author J.K. Rowling whipped Harry Potter fans into a frenzy by releasing only the most cryptic details about what would be on her new site, Pottermore. Although the site doesn’t officially open to the public until October, there have already been over 22 million pageviews, and a million lucky people were chosen for a sneak peek and the opportunity to shape the website’s