From the press release:
Warner Bros. Entertainment today announced an expanded creative partnership with world-renowned, best-selling author J.K. Rowling. At the center of the partnership is a new film series from Rowlingâs world of witches and wizards, inspired by Harry Potterâs Hogwarts textbook âFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Themâ and the adventures of the bookâs fictitious author, Newt Scamander. The announcement was made by Kevin Tsujihara, Chief Executive Officer, Warner Bros. Entertainment.
I love how prolific J.K. Rowling has been, post-Potter. A lot of authors would just sit on their fat stacks of cash and spend too much time deciding on what their next step should be. But I'm not sure if Rowling being the guiding force behind a film-only prequel to the Harry Potter series is a good idea; I think it gives the films an authorial legitimacy that they wouldn't otherwise have. This is an interesting choice from Rowling, and it's undoubtedly good for her brand, but I'm not sure that it's a great thing for the books.
(Via Book Riot.)