“Fantastic Beasts” Roundup: Alison Sudol Meets Dumbledore, Plus J.K. Rowling on Set!
There’s been plenty happening in the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them world this week – from Studio Tour visits to J.K. Rowling herself on set…
The week began with actress Alison Sudol (Queenie) posting pictures from the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter with fellow actor Jon Voight, who has also been cast in Fantastic Beasts. Seeing some of the stars from Fantastic Beasts visiting some of our favorite Harry Potter sets made us remember just how close the two worlds are – as well as how the cast of the new film are also big Harry Potter fans (just like us).
this wonderful human being… #jonvoight A photo posted by alison sudol (@alisudol) on
at (tiny but massively magical) hogwarts. #eeeeeeeeee A photo posted by alison sudol (@alisudol) on
But there is no one better to remind us of how close the two worlds are than J.K. Rowling herself. J.K. Rowling set the fandom buzzing when she revealed that she had visited the set of Fantastic Beasts this week. She didn’t give away much, just this picture of a chair, with her name embroidered on the back, alongside a building.
It’s been a fun day. pic.twitter.com/YDxsXJQ7pj — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) December 3, 2015
In other news, there have been a flurry of small casting announcements this week.
American actor Peter Breitmayer has reportedly been cast as Gilbert Bingley. Peter has previously appeared in several TV shows, including Fargo and Grey’s Anatomy. Nothing else is currently know about his role or the character of Gilbert, but he’s certainly one to look out for.
Two other actors have also been added to the cast – Morgan Walters and Dom Lister. Morgan and Dom are listed as Watchman and Journalist, respectively.
Meanwhile, some of the extras on Fantastic Beasts have reportedly grown annoyed with the strict filming conditions on set. Due to worries over plot leaks and spoilers getting to the media, especially with the way that these days, anyone can share anything online, all mobile phones are confiscated from extras during their time on set. It’s a bit different to the early days of the Harry Potter films when social media didn’t even exist!
While we’re glad that no spoilers can get out, many extras have complained because this means they cannot be easily contacted about other potential jobs. One extra said,
We’re being treated like children. The production team is paranoid, and many of us are thinking of telling them where to shove their job.
The frustration of the extras is quite understandable, but really, we would quite like to be on that set ourselves – who needs mobile phones when you’ve got magic anyway?
And finally, in more whimsical news, Alison Sudol gave us a sneak peek at a beast, called Ric. Although we’re not sure that this particular one will have a starring role in the film…
the makeup truck has a new beast. this is Ric. he’s a little nervous. #fantasticbeasts #queenie #turmeric #friends A photo posted by alison sudol (@alisudol) on
That’s it for this week’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them roundup! Catch up with all the other latest Fantastic Beasts news here. What was your highlight this week? Maybe it was learning that J.K. Rowling had been on set – or Alison Sudol had been hanging out at the Studio Tour. Let us know in the comments!
