12 Reasons to Stay Excited for “Fantastic Beasts”

by MuggleNet · Published November 18, 2015 · Updated October 18, 2017

We’ve been overwhelmed lately with news of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Well, exactly ONE YEAR from today, the film will be released. It seemed appropriate, then, to compile a list of a dozen reasons why the next 12 months will be totally worth the wait!

In no particular order, these are the things that will keep me excited for the next 365 days.

The movie will be set in the 1920s (which happens to be one of my favorite periods in history). Can you imagine all of the magic that had yet to be discovered or perfected at the time? We will get to watch an entire realm of magic blossom on screen! Newt was the pioneer in magizoology, and we get to watch his journey into the unknown world of magical creatures!
Magizoology is something we have yet to see in the Harry Potter cinematic universe. Sure, Hagrid taught Care of Magical Creatures, but we see very little translated from page to screen, limited mostly to Buckbeak the hippogriff, unicorns, and Thestrals. Even Defense Against the Dark Arts provided creatures as lessons, but we never got to see a hinkypunk, red cap, or grindylow. It will be exciting to see the creatures of the magical world come to life!
The movie takes place in the United States. Now, maybe I’m biased as an American, but I am also genuinely excited to see a change of scenery in the magical world. Plus, it will add an interesting dynamic to an already interesting character: an English wizard trying to discover magical creatures in New York City, where wiz-phobia runs deep. I can feel the awkwardness already, and I love it!
Newt “befriends” many of the creatures he finds. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Eddie Redmayne discussed Newt’s love-hate relationship with his Niffler.

He’s incredibly aggravating and wonderful at [the] same time. He’s a complete nightmare, yet Newt gets off on his playfulness and single-mindedness.
David Yates is directing. After directing four out of the eight Harry Potter films, Yates has a very good understanding of the magical world. This film is in good hands, and we can rest easy that it won’t be an atrociously inaccurate representation of the wizarding world we know and love.
Eddie Redmayne. Not sure if you guys are aware (of course you are), but Eddie Redmayne is incredible. He won 11 awards for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything, and all of them were well deserved. If you still haven’t seen it, you absolutely must. The film is incredible, and his acting is superb. I am elated to see him brought into the wizarding world.
The last Harry Potter film was released in 2011. That means it will have been five years since the cinemas came to life with new material from the wizarding world. The most time between Harry Potter films in their ten-year run was two years. We are past due for more magic!
This is an entirely new story. We all know the story of the Boy Who Lived and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. We followed our favorite trio through the halls of Hogwarts, up and down Diagon Alley, on visits to Hogsmeade, and into the Forbidden Forest. But we know very little about Newt Scamander and his life. So while this seems like more Harry Potter, it’s not. It’s a new story set in the wizarding world, and I am thrilled to see a fresh perspective.
The set looks incredible. The Harry Potter universe has always been beautifully and artfully crafted for our viewing pleasure, and Fantastic Beasts is no exception to this trend. We are going to see some incredible settings in this movie, including a set of the Woolworth Building of New York.
No-Maj. Everyone’s been talking about the American term for Muggle. Whether you love it or hate it, it’s coming. I’m excited to take a stance on the matter after hearing it in the film. As of right now, I prefer “Muggle,” but who knows? It may grow on me! No-maj, No-maj.
Special Effects and CGI have come a long way. If this film had been done ten years ago (granted, of course, it couldn’t have), it could have been very disappointing with all of the creatures they have to create. But with the advancements in special effects and CGI, the magical creatures in this film will appear as real as the dog on your lap!
There’s still so much we don’t know. They could reveal more about the film in the impending 12 months, and they could withhold everything. We have a glimpse of the creatures that will be involved, we know the setting, and we know the cast. There is so much more to come! What other surprises do they have in store? Any special appearances (cough, cough Dumbledore, cough, cough)?? We have to wait and see!