After the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 back in 2011, the Harry Potter franchise surpassed Star Wars as the highest-grossing franchise of all time. With Disney bringing out a new series of Star Wars films, however, it was starting to look like Star Wars might reclaim that crown — unless, of course, Warner Brothers decided to continue the Harry Potter series as well. A few years back there were rumours that they might adapt The Tales of Beedle The Bard, a collection of short stories set in the so-called wizarding world of Harry Potter. However, this week they have announced that they will instead be adapting the fictitious Hogwarts textbook Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and focus on the adventures of the textbook’s author, Newt Scamander. What’s more, J.K. Rowling will be writing the script herself. Here is what she had to say about the announcement:

“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. Having lived for so long in my fictional universe, I feel very protective of it and I already knew a lot about Newt. As hard-core Harry Potter fans will know, I liked him so much that I even married his grandson, Rolf, to one of my favourite characters from the Harry Potter series, Luna Lovegood.

As I considered Warners’ proposal, an idea took shape that I couldn’t dislodge. That is how I ended up pitching my own idea for a film to Warner Bros.

Although it will be set in the worldwide community of witches and wizards where I was so happy for seventeen 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. The laws and customs of the hidden magical society will be familiar to anyone who has read the Harry Potter books or seen the films, but Newt’s story will start in New York, seventy years before Harry’s gets underway.

I particularly want to thank Kevin Tsujihara of Warner Bros. for his support in this project, which would not have happened without him. I always said that I would only revisit the wizarding world if I had an idea that I was really excited about and this is it.”

So there you have it. There will indeed be more Harry Potter movies on the big screen, just without Harry Potter. Whether or not audiences can get attached to a new set of characters remains to be seen, but I think it’s safe to say that the franchise will continue making an insane amount of money for Warner Brothers for the foreseeable future. Are you interested in seeing more stories set in this universe? Is it a good thing that J.K. Rowling is writing the movie herself?