The J.K. Rowling Surprise!

A recent surge in circulation of an internet article has resulted in rejoicing followed by immediate heartbreak with that only to be followed by joyful news. The article in question is a Story Carnivores article about J.K. Rowling having confirmed an 8th Harry Potter novel and it starts off with:

Yahoo News and the New York Times today confirmed that J.K. Rowling is writing the eighth Harry Potter novel, and is already 75% done with the manuscript. Details on the storyline are hush hush, but Rowling is said to be revealing more about the upcoming HP novel later this very week in a press conference in Scotland.

The thing that has been the catch point for this is that the article was indeed, posted on April 1. Sorry, no digs for that awesome piece of news. Given the time of year this article made a comeback, I of course fell for it (cue immediate heartbreak) only to realize early on I had been duped.

However, this news was followed rather quickly by an announcement that while J.K. Rowling is not continuing the saga of our favorite teenage wizard, she has decided and committed to writing a Potterverse screenplay, Magical Beasts and Where to Find Them!

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was—according to the in-universe lore—a Hogwarts textbook written by one Newton Scamander, a magizoolist, and published in 1927. Scamander was born in 1897 and was interested in magical beasts from an early age, and that his mother bred hippogriffs. Any flashbacks will likely include the humble horklump, a rather gross bristly mushroom-like creature, which Scamander apparently dissected as a youth. Rowling has also mentioned that the story starts in New York City; that and the date evoke the delicious possibility of some American-style Jazz-age wizardry.

The movie, based on the textbook from Hogwarts, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them has had all of the excitement of the past 15 years re-kindled in people young, small, and famous including the cast of the other 8 movies. Evanna Lynch who played Luna Lovegood posted this on Twitter:

It is just thrilling to think we can all get back into the thing that is so magical and such a literary milestone in our lives. These books changed everything for me when I was 13 (I was late to the game). On top of this most exciting news, we also have the new paperback art release for the 15th anniversary! If you need a break from life, just sit back and relax...let yourself enjoy being a Potterhead again!

Sources include: Time Entertainment & Story Carnivores