AceShowbiz -

Warner Bros. has secured a date for "Harry Potter" spin-off "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them". Based on a 2001 novel by J.K. Rowling of the same title, the film will hit theaters on November 18, 2016.

Rowling is already attached as screenwriter and producer. "It all started when Warner Bros. came to me with the suggestion of turning 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' into a film. I thought it was a fun idea, but the idea of seeing Newt Scamander, the supposed author of 'Fantastic Beasts', realized by another writer was difficult," she said in September of her screenwriting debut.

The movie is set 70 years before the events of the "Harry Potter", featuring the book's fictitious author, Newt Scamander. It's neither a prequel nor a sequel to the Harry Potter series, but an extension of the wizarding world. The laws and customs of the hidden magical society will be familiar to the Harry Potter fans, but Newt's story will start in New York, seventy years before Harry's gets underway.

No director or cast has been announced. It is yet clear whether the film will be expanded as a franchise.