‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ Casts ‘Inherent Vice’ Star Katherine Waterston

A couple of weeks ago we learned about some of the actresses being considered to star opposite Eddie Redmayne in Harry Potter spinoff Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Kate Upton was certainly a curious choice, but one of the more interesting names on the list was Katherine Waterston, the breakout star of last year’s Inherent Vice.

According to THR, Waterston has formally signed on to play Tina, one of the female leads in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The name is short for Porpetina, in case you thought Tina was a little too basic for a film that takes place in a fantasy world of wizards and such. The film centers on Newt Scarmander (Redmayne), the magizoologist who pens the fictional textbook Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, later used in both the Harry Potter novels and books.

Fantastic Beasts takes place some 70 years before the events of Harry Potter, as Newt Scarmander encounters various beasts in his very own adventure. He’ll also meet the witch Porpetina and her younger sister, Queenie during his travels. Dakota Fanning and Saoirse Ronan are two of the actresses Warner Bros. is considering for that role.

Harry Potter franchise vet David Yates will direct the spinoff, with author J.K. Rowling making her screenwriting debut. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is the first in a planned trilogy, with the initial film hitting theaters on November 18, 2016.