'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' Trailer is Here!

The first major trailer for J.K. Rowling's 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' is here! In it we get our first look at the New York Wizarding World, as well as some familiar looks at places we've seen in the 'Harry Potter' films. The inside of Gringott's is shown early on, and there are references to both Hogwarts and Dumbledore. Eddie Redmayne stars as Newt Scamander, who is revealed to have been kicked out of Hogwarts at some point, yet is well liked by Dumbledore.

Hearing "Hedwig's Theme" in a movie trailer again is enough to bring a tear to any Harry Potter fans eye. 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' is in theaters November 18, 2016.

Celestina Warbeck Gets The Pottermore Spotlight

J.K. Rowling has added more new content to the Harry Potter universe via the Pottermore website. This one is also directly connected to Universal Studios Orlando and the new Diagon Alley section that was added to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Celestina Warbeck was a character mentioned in the books as one of the most popular singers in the wizarding world, and Molly Weasley's favorite singer. It's one of numerous new backgrounds given on a Harry Potter subject which is mentioned but not delved deeply into.

The character is portrayed in Diagon Alley, performing shows at different hours of the day, so it was only fitting to add some background to the character, with a full biography written about her from Rowling. It's located in the Chamber of Secrets area of Pottermore in the "Floo Powder" section. It also allows you to listen to a song which is performed at Universal Orlando called You Stole My Cauldron But You Can't Have My Heart. Can't get to Orlando? You can watch the entire Universal Orlando performance by Celestina Warbeck and the Banshees below:

Is Another Harry Potter Short Story on the Way?

J.K. Rowling made headlines when she wrote a short story in the style of a Rita Skeeter gossip column about Harry Potter and the rest of Dumbledore's Army on the Pottermore website early in July, following with more information courtesy of Skeeter at the Quidditch World Cup. These were released around the time that Diagon Alley opened to much fanfare (and 5 hour waits for the new ride) at Universal Studios Orlando. Skeeter mentions during the gossip column that she has a book called Dumbledore's Army: The Dark Side of the Demob coming out on July 31st at Flourish and Blotts. Does this mean Rowling could post more from Skeeter to the Pottermore website?

Some fans found the updates on Harry, Ron, Hermione and friends, the first since the Deathly Hallows book came out in 2007, too negative. The whole point of Rita Skeeter is to poke fun at tabloids and the embellished information contained in them, as half the stuff Skeeter says are lies anyway. It was meant to be fun, and came across that way just fine.

The live updates on the Quidditch World Cup final, with dueling posts from Ginny Weasley (now Potter, of course) and Skeeter, ended in comical fashion. Ginny got tired of Skeeter making up stories about Dumbledore's Army and put a jinx on her. Some nice tidbits about our favorite characters were included as well. Harry has a new scar on his face, possibly from a battle during his time as an auror. He also remains friends with Viktor Krum. Krum won the Quidditch World Cup with Bulgaria for the first time. Ron now co-runs the Weasley Wizard Wheezes joke shop. I for one hope we do get another Pottermore update from Rita Skeeter on July 31, and I'm sure many people will be logging onto the site to see if this will be an actual story. There is a Flourish and Blotts section of the site, which lends some hope for fans.

Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint Return to Harry Potter

These are the cars riders will sit in.

Its official: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint are returning to play Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley respectively in Universal Orlando's new ride "Harry Potter and the Escape From Gringotts".

Bellatrix LeStrange (Helena Bonham Carter), Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) and Griphook (Warwick Davis) are also featured in the ride and the original actors filmed scenes as well. Not too much about the state-of-the-art ride is known, other than it will be based on their adventure during "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". A new video has been released giving a look at the ride with concept videos and artwork, as well as descriptions.


Better book your rooms now, because Orlando will be packed when "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley" opens this summer at Universal Orlando.

The Harry Potter news doesn't stop there, as WB has announced that the first film in their "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" based trilogy will hit theaters in November 2016. JK Rowling wrote the screenplay that fleshed out the book she released in 2001. All we know is it takes place in New York City 70 years before the Harry Potter books.

Diagon Alley Nearing Completion at Universal Studios Florida

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley, which has been in the works since The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade first opened at Islands of Adventure in 2010, is taking shape quickly ahead of its opening this Summer 2014 at Universal Studios Florida in Orlando.

Guests who have park-to-park admission will be able to take the Hogwarts Express between the two parks. The Hogwarts Express has windows that are made of screens, so instead of seeing some Orlando roads as you take the train between parks, you will see the English countryside as well as magical creatures from Harry Potter. Everyone's dream to take a ride to Hogwarts can finally come true. 

The London waterfront is what you'll see first, which hides the new section of the park like in the films. You'll see Leicester Square, the Knight Bus, and Grimmauld Place before entering Diagon Alley through The Leaky Cauldron, which will be massive in size. New shops besides The Leaky Cauldron that are featured will be places like Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, a larger Ollivanders Wand Shop, Madame Malkins Robes, Magical Menagerie, and Quality Quidditch Supplies to name a few. Knockturn Alley will also be included, for all muggles to get their fix of the dark arts. 

The star attraction will be Gringotts Bank, which houses the new ride "Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts". Likely a roller coaster with brand new technology, its unknown exactly how the ride works, only that it will be like the escape seen in the Deathly Hallows. A fire breathing dragon will be perched on top of Gringotts, and will actually breathe fire. 

JK Rowling has been involved in the process, and helped introduce brand new shops and characters that weren't featured in the books or films. Take a look at a teaser video of the expansion:

Return To The World Of 'Harry Potter'!

WB announced a new partnership with J.K. Rowling. The Harry Potter author will act as screenwriter for a new film set in the famous Wizarding World, called 'Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them', based on the textbook used throughout the Harry Potter series.

The movie is not a sequel or prequel to any of the Harry Potter movies, but it will take place in the same world. The main character of the film will be the fictional author of the book, Newt Scamander, whose grandson Rolf is married to Luna Lovegood. Rowling said the film will begin in New York, 70 years before the start of Harry Potter. So no, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, & Rupert Grint won't be involved in the film. However, other characters we know from the series could be in it. She did say some of the characters will be familiar to Harry Potter fans, so it's possible we'll see younger versions of characters like Dumbledore and McGonagall.

'Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them' will also include video games, products and a link with the Pottermore website.

"The Cuckoo's Calling" by JK Rowling

Back in April, a crime novel called The Cuckoo's Calling was released by a mysterious man named Robert Galbraith as his debut book. The book was critically acclaimed even though there was little information on who this "man" was and not much promotion. It turns out the author is actually JK Rowling, who transfigured herself under the pseudonym of Galbraith. Harry Potter would be proud.

Rowling stated, "I had hoped to keep this secret a little longer because being Robert Galbraith has been such a liberating experience. It has been wonderful to publish without hype or expectation, and pure pleasure to get feedback under a different name." She had sent the novel to a publisher anonymously, and they declined it before being accepted by another (Sphere Books/Little, Brown & Company). This is her second non-Harry Potter book after The Casual Vacancy.

After it was revealed Rowling was the author, sales of the book went up 16,683,500% on Amazon. Yes, that is a real number. It's also the top selling book on Amazon now, after being previously ranked as the 166,836th ranked book. Currently if you'd like to buy the book, it is going to take extra days to ship because of the massive sales increase.

I love what Rowling did. All this time there was this fantastic novel sitting on the shelves and few people knew about it. Maybe that will finally get more people to start reading books? Or better yet, maybe publishing companies will promote books by lesser known writers? Probably not, but one can hope. The Cuckoo's Calling may become a series, as Rowling is reportedly writing another book featuring the main character, Cormoran Strike.

Diagon Alley Heading To Universal Orlando

Save up your galleons from now and get ready to apparate to Orlando, Florida in Summer 2014. Diagon Alley has been announced as the newest addition to Universal Studios Florida, and expansion of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I wrote about this happening back in 2011 when the park announced they were removing the Jaws section, but now Universal has officially released all the details on this magical expansion that will once again pack every hotel in Orlando.

As expected, both Universal Studios & Islands of Adventure will be connected for the first time with the Hogwarts Express train. Guests who have tickets to both parks will be able to take this train back and forth between the two. Hopefully they keep the dementors away. In addition to the Hogwarts Express as well as new shops and restaurants in Diagon Alley, the main attraction will be be based on Gringotts Bank. You can see in the concept art that Gringotts towers over the rest of the park. It will no doubt be the most state of the art amusement park ride in the world.

And you can guarantee that the Hogwarts Express ride itself won't just be a typical theme park transport system. The on-board experience will be completely innovative and authentic to give Harry Potter fans what they've dreamed of since reading the very first book, entering the train at a replica King's Cross Station in the Universal Studios section or at Hogsmeade in the Islands of Adventure section. JK Rowling & Warner Bros have been involved with the project since the original Wizarding World was developed.

Universal Creative President Mark Woodbury had this to say, "Those meetings are fascinating and wonderful opportunities to have, to be able to talk and collaborate directly with J K Rowling and the Warner Bros. film-makers. This was a big idea. And everybody immediately saw that when we initially laid it all out. And the fact that we wanted to continue to tell the Harry Potter story, the places that we had chosen to develop -- Diagon Alley & London & Gringotts & Hogwarts Express -- were really big ideas and bold moves, I think that the ambition behind that was very much appreciated."

Universal Studios Florida has been quite busy. Transformers: The Ride 3D opens up in June, and the park is also adding to The Simpsons/Springfield section with a Kang & Kodos themed spinning ride, various games, Duff Brewery, Moe's Tavern, Kentucky Fried Panda and Krusty Burger. There have also been various rumors of whats next with Islands of Adventure. Another Jurassic Park ride, a King Kong ride, and a Lord of the Rings section have all been floated around. For now, just enjoy the excitement of Transformers, The Simpsons and of course the big one, the giant Harry Potter expansion.

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 2 Review; Extended DVDs?

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 2 is now here, and concludes the film series based on the books by J.K Rowling. As many of you may know, it has been getting the best reviews of the eight films, and even generating some much deserved Oscar buzz. I, of course, think it should at least be nominated for Best Picture, as well as other categories like effects, score, possibly even a supporting actor nomination for Alan Rickman. This is without a doubt the most action packed of the films, and really moves by quickly, at a little over 2 hours. I would give the film about a 95 out of 100, knocking a few points off because of some things I'll put below the cut. And it's been announced that the film has surpassed The Dark Knight to have the biggest opening weekend ever in the US, with around $168 million. It also crushed the Twilight record for biggest midnight opening, as well as biggest single day ever, grossing $92 million on Friday alone. The Harry Potter finale has cast a big spell, with records that should stand for a very long time.

Now, possible Spoilers beyond here, click "read more" for the rest, and thoughts on possible extended edition DVDs/Blu Rays.

What is J.K. Rowling planning? Return of Harry Potter franchise?

If you haven't heard yet, J.K. Rowling has opened up two teaser sites. The first is a YouTube with owls and a countdown clock located here. The second is a website, http://www.pottermore.com/. This is obviously directly related to the Harry Potter universe, so what is it that she will be announcing in six days? The YouTube simply says, "The owls are gathering... Find out why soon."

What exactly is Pottermore? Your guess is as good as mine. I and many others have some theories on it, but we will find out the truth in six days.

Will it be a prequel to the Harry Potter franchise featuring his young parents leading up to the night Harry got his scar? Could it be some books featuring stories during their time at Hogwarts that we never read, or some side stories with their classmates such as Luna Lovegood and Neville? It could be Harry Potter e-books, but I don't see why all this fuss would be made over e-books. Maybe the original books would be released as e-books with new bonus chapters?

Or it might not even be a new book, and it's probably not. Maybe it is going to be some sort of video game, like an MMO similar to the Marvel Universe Online which was eventually cancelled? I would think it would be more than just any old MMO game if JK Rowling is planning this big announcement. Anyone have any other guesses? Speculation is all over the place, but we'll find out what Pottermore is soon.