Katherine Waterston has been cast to play the role of Porpentina in the upcoming Harry Potter-inspired movie, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Porpentina, also known as Tina, is a witch who operates and works her magic in the United States. While Harry Potter is located in London, the setting for Fantastic Beasts will be in New York.
Waterston was best known for her role in last year’s Inherent Vice. The British-born American actress also appeared in several episodes of Boardwalk Empire.
Several actresses including Saoirse Ronan, Lili Simmons and Dakota Fanning were reportedly considered for the role of Porpentina as well.
The film is still searching for two more cast members to play pivotal roles. The roles are Porpentina’s younger sister, Queenie, and Scamander’s opponent, Jacob.
The casting team is reported to be searching for established faces for the roles even though they discovered fresh faces for the original Harry Potter movie.
The director of the last four Harry Potter films David Yates will help with the project. The screenplay for Fantastic Beasts was written by Potter author J.K. Rowling.
Potter producer David Heyman is also back as the movie’s producer but this time guided by Rowling. Alongside Heyman to produce the film are Steve Kloves and Lionel Wigram.
Rowling highly emphasized that this upcoming film isn’t going to be a sequel to Harry Potter but a spinoff.
“Although it will be set in the worldwide community of witches and wizards where I was so happy for 17 years, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is neither a prequel nor a sequel to the Harry Potter series but an extension of the wizarding world,” Rowling explained.
The film is set to hit theaters November 18 next year.
