Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them: Everything We Know So Far

5. America Is "Wiz-Phobic"

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was originally going to be a far more international affair before the decision was made to limit the action to New York. Interestingly, despite taking place roughly ninety years before the events of the Harry Potter movies, this release has been described as being more modern in some ways due to Fantastic Beasts taking place in a bustling city rather than a medieval castle. However, the 1920s setting may go some way in explaining why Rowling has seemingly decided to make a big chunk of the movie about persecution (something which was obviously rampant in America at the time when it comes to race relations). The wizarding community is very much underground due to their fear of No-Maj types, and that apparently stems from The Salem witch trials, something viewed in this world as a major historical tragedy. The New Salem Philanthropic Society (a.k.a. the Second Salemers), a group looking to expose and destroy wizards and witches, very much add to that and are led by Mary Lou (Samantha Morton). Here where things look set to take something of an interesting twist though. Entertainment Weekly describes Ezra Miller's Credence as Mary's "troubled adopted son"; could it be that he's a wizard? Regardless, with such a huge amount of fear about that "wiz-phobic" group among the American wizards, it's no wonder that Newt's arrival causes such chaos. The image above appears to show him duelling in the streets of New York, and unless that's is a hidden area for those with magical abilities like Diagon Alley, this could be the moment he makes himself a target for those Second Salemers...