‘Diagon Alley’ at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter turns one, special display in London’s King’s Cross to mark the event

7 July 2015 at 11:07 GMT

The ‘Diagon Alley’ attraction at Universal’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park celebrated its first birthday this week. To mark the occasion, a special 3D street art display will be showcased at London’s Kings’s Cross. Check out some photos below.

Consumers will be able to ‘enter’ Diagon Alley and get a glimpse into J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world, with a photographer on hand to capture the special moment. The art was designed to showcase the newest addition to Universal Studios Florida at Universal Orlando Resort.

The Diagon Alley area of the park includes the new Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts thrill ride.

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Explore the new artwork in the Harry Potter illustrated editions

6 July 2015 at 08:37 GMT

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J.K. Rowling announces new Harry Potter story, ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’, to be performed as a play in London

26 June 2015 at 11:56 GMT

Update: Here’s everything we know about the play so far

J.K. Rowling today announced a new Harry Potter story titled Harry Potter and the Cursed Child which will be performed as a play in London in 2016.

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Eddie Redmayne is Newt Scamander in the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ Harry Potter prequels

2 June 2015 at 12:05 GMT

Warner Bros. today announced that actor Eddie Redmayne will play protagonist Newt Scamander in the J.K. Rowling-penned Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them prequels.

According to the press release, “Redmayne will play J.K. Rowling’s creation Newt Scamander, the Wizarding World’s preeminent magizoologist, who in his travels has encountered and documented a myriad of magical creatures, ultimately leading to his penning the Hogwarts School textbook Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.”

David Yates, who directed the last four “Harry Potter” films and will direct “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” stated, “Eddie is a fearless actor, brimming with invention, wit and humanity. I couldn’t be more excited about the prospect of working with him as we start this new adventure in J.K. Rowling’s wonderful world, and I know she feels the same way.”

Redmayne won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything. He’s also known to audiences for his performance as Marius in the 2012 film adaptation of Les Misérables.

Filming on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will begin later this year with a release date of 18 November 2016.

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Warner Bros. confirms three ‘Fantastic Beasts’ films, penned by J.K. Rowling, directed by David Yates

16 October 2014 at 01:37 GMT

Warner Bros. today confirmed that at least three Fantastic Beasts spin-off films will be produced: the first released in 2016 and then in 2018 and 2020.

While J.K. Rowling will pen the screenplay, it has been revealed today that David Yates (director of Order of the Phoenix, Half-Blood Prince and both Deathly Hallows films) will direct. Producer David Heyman and various other members of the ‘Potter’ production crew will also return.

The Studio will release three pictures, in 2016, 2018 and 2020, based on best-selling author J.K. Rowling’s original story and screenwriting debut, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.” Set in an extension of her familiar wizarding world, featuring magical creatures and characters inspired by Harry Potter’s Hogwarts textbook and its fictitious author, Newt Scamander, “Fantastic Beasts” will be directed by David Yates, who directed the last four Harry Potter movies, and reunite the filmmaking team of David Heyman, J.K. Rowling, Steve Kloves and Lionel Wigram.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (a fictional textbook in the ‘Potter’ universe) will follow the adventures of author Newt Scamander. J.K. Rowling teased fans last week with a Twitter anagram, revealing, “Newt only meant to stay in New York for a few hours. Circumstances ensured that he remained… for the length of a movie, anyway.”

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Bloomsbury to rerelease children’s editions of all seven Harry Potter novels; new artwork by Jonny Duddle

20 March 2014 at 09:12 GMT

Last year we reported that UK publisher Bloomsbury were planning to rerelease the entire Harry Potter series with new art from illustrator Jim Kay. Today, Bloomsbury announced they’ll be rereleasing the children’s paperback and hardback editions with new artwork from Jonny Duddle.

Together, Bloomsbury and J.K. Rowling selected Jonny Duddle to be the new artist for the Harry Potter books. Jonny will create front, back and spine artwork for each. On being chosen to design the covers Jonny Duddle said “I’m hugely excited to work my way through the wonderful books. I couldn’t have asked for more enjoyable subject matter. It’s exciting, daunting and I feel the weight of responsibility, and I’m just hoping that my illustrations faithfully reflect the characters and world created by J.K.Rowling”

All seven new editions will be published on 1 September 2014 and will include bonus Pottermore material. The editions illustrated by Jim Kay will be available in 2015.

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Ten years later…

22 December 2013 at 12:56 GMT

On 22 December 2003, ten years ago to the day, Harry Potter Fan Zone came online. It looked a little something (actually, a lot something) like this.

I was – at the time – a bored fourteen year–old looking for something to do over the Australian summer holiday break. And here we are today: two books, six movies, and a decade of digging up Harry Potter news and rumours later.

I never imagined that a little pet-project conceived in my bedroom would lead to such awesome opportunities: being featured on the front–page of my local paper, attending the Goblet of Fire premiere in New York City and the Order of the Phoenix premiere in Los Angeles at the invitation of Warner Bros. and twice visiting Leavesden Studios to watch filming on movies six and seven while interviewing the cast and crew.

Plus a bunch more cool stuff (I won’t forget eating lunch opposite Alan Rickman in full Snape get–up anytime soon).

Of course, my highlight of this whole little adventure was hearing that Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling was a fan of the website and reading the lovely thank–you she gave us on her official website.

So thank you to everyone who’s contributed to this website over the past ten years and, of course, to everyone who’s given it a visit. I hope you’ve had as much fun following Harry Potter Fan Zone (yes, I do wish I’d come up with a better name all those years ago) as I’ve had running it.

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Bloomsbury releasing full-colour editions of entire ‘Harry Potter’ series starting in 2015

6 December 2013 at 09:12 GMT

Update: See more art from the first illustrated edition

Bloomsbury today announced that they will publish full–colour editions of all seven Harry Potter novels illustrated by artist Jim Kay. The first book in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, will be released in 2015.

Jim Kay, winner of the 2012 Kate Greenaway Medal, will illustrate all seven books in full-colour and design the new book jacket image as well as the inside artwork. A lifelong Harry Potter fan, Jim Kay says: ‘From my point of view it is, without doubt, the commission of a lifetime …to design the characters, the clothing, the architecture and landscapes to possibly the most expansive fantasy world in children’s literature, well let’s just say I’m extremely excited about it. However, I am also mindful of the huge responsibility this represents. I want to make sure I do the best job I possibly can.’

You can see more of Jim’s illustrations over at his official website.

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J.K. Rowling to pen ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ for the screen; the first in a new series of ‘Potter’–inspired films

13 September 2013 at 13:05 GMT

Warner Bros. today announced that Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling will make her screenwriting debut by bringing Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (first published in 2001 as a ‘Potter’ companion book) to the silver screen.

The movie will be “the first in a new film series” and will be set in New York, seventy years before Harry’s adventure begins. The film series will follow the book’s fictitious author, Newt Scamander, and will, “feature magical creatures and characters, some of which will be familiar to devoted Harry Potter fans”.

Says Jo Rowling:

“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.”

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J.K. Rowling revealed as author of crime novel, ‘The Cuckoo’s Calling’, published back in April

14 July 2013 at 12:50 GMT

It has been revealed today that Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling is the writer behind The Cuckoo’s Calling, a crime novel published back in April under the pseudonym ‘Robert Galbraith’.

Rowling revealed she was the author of the 450-page novel earlier today, stating, “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.”

The Cuckoo’s Calling is Rowling’s second post-Potter novel, the first being The Casual Vacancy which was published in September of last year. It’s currently available for purchase on Amazon.

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