J.K. Rowling

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.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is set to make its debut on London’s West End this summer, offering a new sequel of sorts in the franchise, but one that will only be performed as a play. However, there’s some good news for all the devoted Harry Potter fans who won’t be able to attend the stage production: the script for the play will be published as a book in July — July 31, to be precise, which just happens to be one Mr. Potter’s birthday.

Warner Bros. has unveiled a special treat for Harry Potter fans this weekend with this new behind-the-scenes featurette from the set of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which promises a wild, magical and awe-inspiring new adventure. The film marks the screenwriting debut of Potter author J.K. Rowling, whose praises are sung quite fondly in this new video.

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 upcoming Harry Potter spinoff Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is still almost a year away, but with Star Wars: The Force Awakens almost here, everyone is scrambling to get their big trailers attached to the biggest movie of the year. Fantastic Beasts is no exception and today we get our first look at the continuation of the Wizarding World. The only problem? It’s not much of a look.

Dear Muggles, don’t worry. You’re not gone forever.

Over the last couple of days we’ve seen the first images from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, as well as plot and character details to help better acquaint us with the Harry Potter spinoff. Today brings even more news from the world of Fantastic Beasts, with a list of a few of those beasts we can expect to find when the film hits theaters next fall.

Looking for something to (temporarily) quell your Hogwarts withdrawals? Warner Bros. has just the thing. Accio Fantastic Beasts!

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 casting recently began falling into place for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, but the Harry Potter spinoff isn’t done just yet — Samantha Morton has joined the line-up of the upcoming film, which has begun shooting in London. Given that the story brings its protagonist over to New York, it shouldn’t be long before filming commences stateside.