“Fantastic Beasts” Roundup: Give Us the Coat!

It’s a brand new year, and do you know what that means? Yes, it means that the first installment of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is hitting our screens this year. Sure, we’ve still got ten months to wait, but it suddenly feels a lot closer than it did a few weeks ago. It’s hard to believe that this project was first announced back in 2013, and now, here we are edging closer to the release date. Hopefully this means that in the next few months we’ll get plenty more previews of the film.

In the last few days of 2015, we were gifted with two new pictures of Eddie Redmayne in character as Newt Scamander, showcasing that gorgeous coat that we all fell in love with. One of the pictures shows Eddie running up some stairs, clutching the case and a piece of paper, while the other shows him alongside co-stars Dan Fogler (Jacob) and Katherine Waterston (Tina) staring at something off camera. You can see both pictures below.

Pottermore also posted a short interview with Eddie on the coat. Following Daniel Radcliffe’s remarks that he was jealous of Newt’s costume, Eddie said,

It’s interesting, my costume, because one of the main routes into this character is the way he moves. With the tightness at the top of that coat, Newt[ i]s a compact kind of guy, especially when you think about all the vials and magic he can fit in that coat. The trousers are slightly too short for him too, which works for the way I move as him.

Colleen Atwood, the costume designer for the film, also commented on the coat, which we all fell in love with the moment that we saw it.

I made Eddie’s coat from some fabric I’d had around for years, from a play I did,” Colleen says, on set between fittings. “I’d been hoarding it, and I dyed it that colour for Newt.”

And what’s the color?

I’d say it’s a dark peacock blue. Or technically, in fashion, we’d call it petrol. I knew from the script that Newt is true to the sky and the earth and land, and that’s what I depicted in the colours of his costume.

Colleen also revealed that she has TWELVE of these coats, for all those action scenes that Eddie has to do.

Eddie Redmayne appeared on The Graham Norton Show at the end of 2015 alongside Hunger Games actress Jennifer Lawrence. Although he didn’t talk about Fantastic Beasts, it was a great reminder of just what a brilliant actor Eddie is and how much we’re all looking forward to seeing him as Newt. Check out a clip below.

In other news, Indonesian actress Cinta Laura Kiehl has been busy filming for Fantastic Beasts. Her role is listed on IMDb as a candy store girl.

Happy New Year to all our readers – we look forward to sharing plenty more Fantastic Beasts news with you in this coming year!

Make sure you look out for the second episode of MuggleNet’s new podcast, SpeakBeasty, coming tomorrow, January 3. While you’re waiting, you can catch up with Episode 1 here.

What was your highlight from this week’s roundup?

Let us know in the comments!