How magical.
If anyone was under any illusions about how popular Harry Potter wizard-y spin-off Fantastic Beasts And Where to Find Them would be, all such doubts have well and truly disappeared in a puff of smoke.
The Eddie Redmayne fronted cinematic spectacular is flying high around the globe, with excited popcorn-munchers flocking to the pictures to watch the JK Rowling-penned fantasy adventure.
Thanks to enormous debuts in China and Japan, the film has picked up £106m internationally, pushing its total global haul to an enormous £380m and counting. And the reviews have been amazing too.
But what you may not know, unless you’re one of the eagle-eyed Hogwarts obsessives who noticed the fact in the past week, is that Fantastic Beasts… isn’t the first reference to lead character Newt Scamander.
Sure, the new movie may be the first time we see Redmayne playing the part, but the character’s name does appear in 2004 Potter flick, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Spotted on Cosmopolitan, when Fred and George Weasley explain to Harry how the Marauder’s Map works, you can see Newt Scamander’s name appearing on the map…
Newt Scamander's name appeared in the Marauder's Map in 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'.#KLIPSmy #DidYouKnow #FantasticBeasts pic.twitter.com/IvTWfOd6ew
— KLIPS (@klipsmalaysia) November 20, 2016
The map, which shows the (then) current location of every person in Hogwarts, displays the name Newt Scamander, who is somewhere inside the castle.
Who knows what Newt was doing there, but fans are guessing that he was most probably visiting his old teacher Dumbledore. Redmayne’s character was expelled from Hogwarts, but Dumbledore fought against the decision.
Who knows what other easter eggs are out there. Keep your eyes peeled, Potheads…
