--- description: J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter spinoff film officially cast its leading lady, who will undoubtedly rival Hermione Granger for wittiest witch of the Wizarding World. title: "Harry Potter" Spinoff Gets Its Leading Lady image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt569cfc7a541bb04e/698854915f570f1babb1bfd6/gettyimages-464053760.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # _Harry Potter_ Spinoff Gets Its Leading Lady by [ashley Ross](/author/ashley-ross/) ## ashley Ross Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 15, 2015 5:55 PM CUT  Katherine Waterston, left, and Eddie Redmayne Katherine Waterston, left, and Eddie RedmayneJason Merritt/Mike Marsland — Getty Images by [ashley Ross](/author/ashley-ross/) ## ashley Ross Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 15, 2015 5:55 PM CUT J.K. Rowling’s _Harry Potter_ spinoff film officially cast its leading lady, who will undoubtedly rival Hermione Granger for wittiest witch of the Wizarding World. Katherine Waterston, known for _Inherent Vice_, will star as Tina, or Porpentina, a witch who “works her magic in the U.S.” alongside Eddie Redmayne’s Newt Scamander. It’s unclear at this point if Tina will be American or if she’ll just be practicing magic in America. Waterston is a British-born American actress (her father is Sam Waterston, known most recently for his role on [_Grace and Frankie_](http://time.com/3897717/grace-and-frankie-season-2/ "undefined")), but if she is American, this could mean that she was educated at the so-called “[American Hogwarts](http://time.com/3914081/jk-rowling-american-hogwarts/ "undefined")” that Rowling recently Tweeted about. “‘_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,” Rowling said in a statement late last year. “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.” Potter fans assume that Tina is, in fact, an American witch who eventually marries Redmayne’s character. And Rowling clarified a bit about her and her sister, Queenie, who’s yet to be cast. > [](https://twitter.com/jk%5Frowling/status/606362972550795264) The film is set to hit theaters in November of 2016. ### Harry Potter Illustrated Edition Illustrations  Harry Potter Jim Kay—Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.  Hermione Granger Jim Kay—Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.  Ron Weasley Jim Kay—Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.  Draco Malfoy Jim Kay—Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.  Rubeus Hagrid Jim Kay—Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.  Hogwarts Grand Hall Jim Kay—Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.  Dragon Alley Jim Kay—Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.  Hagrid Jim Kay—Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.  Harry Potter Jim Kay—Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.  An owl Jim Kay—Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.  The Golden Snitch Jim Kay—Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3921574/jk-rowling-fantastic-beasts/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3921574/jk-rowling-fantastic-beasts/"},"headline":"Harry Potter Spinoff Gets Its Leading Lady","datePublished":"2015-06-15T17:55:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:47:24.339Z","description":"And she might have gone to American Hogwarts","url":"https://time.com/3921574/jk-rowling-fantastic-beasts/","keywords":["movies","Newsfeed"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt569cfc7a541bb04e/698854915f570f1babb1bfd6/gettyimages-464053760.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"ashley Ross","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ashley-ross/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt569cfc7a541bb04e/698854915f570f1babb1bfd6/gettyimages-464053760.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Katherine Waterston Eddie Redmayne","caption":"Katherine Waterston Eddie Redmayne","creditText":"Jason Merritt/Mike Marsland — Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3921574/jk-rowling-fantastic-beasts/","name":"Harry Potter Spinoff Gets Its Leading Lady"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Harry Potter Could've Attended An American Wizarding School","description":"The","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/ivWBNS2z/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-06-10T17:38:24.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ivWBNS2z.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3921574/jk-rowling-fantastic-beasts/","duration":"PT2M5S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3921574/jk-rowling-fantastic-beasts/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```