Today Pottermore has shared a few brand new details on the next Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them film which began principal filming today! The film will take place in London, New York and Paris. They also revealed that Jacob and Credence will be making appearances in the film. WB said that Credence will be back, in a ‘mysterious’ way.

Pottermore also shared a few new characters that will be joining our favorite band of misfits to face  ‘new perils in an increasingly dangerous and divided wizarding world.’

Standouts include a bounty hunter called Grimmson, played by Icelandic actor Ingvar Sigurdsson; William Nadylam as a wizard called Yusuf Kama; Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as Skender, the owner of a wizarding circus and Claudia Kim as one of the circus’s ‘featured attractions’.

Warner Bros. also confirmed that Callum Turner will appear as Newt’s older brother, Theseus Scamander, while Zoë Kravitz returns as Leta Lestrange.

They shared the following about the plot:

The latest from the studio is that, in the new film, Grindelwald will ‘make a dramatic escape’ from MACUSA custody, forcing Albus Dumbledore to join the wizarding world’s efforts to stop him.

The villainous Grindelwald has been busy ‘gathering more followers to his cause – elevating wizards above all non-magical beings’. Dumbledore will look to his former student Newt for help.

Newt will again be joined by Queenie and Tina Goldstein in the next film, as well as his No-Maj friend Jacob Kowalski, and a host of new characters. However, the mission against Grindelwald will ‘test their loyalties’ as the wizarding world becomes more divided and dangerous.

In the Harry Potter stories, Dumbledore and Grindelwald had a complex history. The pair started off as childhood friends, but became enemies after a duel which led to the death of Dumbledore’s younger sister, Ariana.

Albus Dumbledore was only mentioned by name in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Grindelwald, masquerading as Graves, asked Newt why the Hogwarts teacher was ‘so fond’ of him.

We also learned in that scene that Dumbledore argued against Newt Scamander’s expulsion from the wizarding school. The beloved Hogwarts professor will be played by Jude Law in this new adventure.

Five films are planned in the Fantastic Beasts series and the new film is due for release on 16 November, 2018.

According to the filmmakers, the as-yet-untitled film will have some ‘surprising nods’ to the Harry Potter stories and is being directed by David Yates.

Pottermore has announced an open casting call for the sequel to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Warner Bros. are looking for 5 young actors to portray younger versions of Newt, Leta, Grindelwald and Dumbledore as well as a new character, Sebastian.

An open casting call has gone out for three actors between the ages of 13 and 16 to play young versions of Newt, Leta, and another character called Sebastian.

They are also looking for actors between 16 and 18 to portray both Gellert Grindelwald and Albus Dumbledore as teenagers.

[…]

To apply for the Fantastic Beasts open casting call, email casting.prod@wb.uc-ns.com with a recent colour photograph, (i.e., taken within the last two months), contact telephone number, your home address and date of birth. Anyone under 18 must ask a parent or guardian to send the application.

No previous acting experience is necessary, but applicants need to be eligible to work in the UK (meaning they must be a UK, Irish or EU passport holder), and be available for filming between August and November 2017.

The closing date for applications is Tuesday, 20 June 2017 at midnight GMT. If there is interest in pursuing an application further, the applicant will hear back within 14 days of their original submission. While every applicant will be considered, only those passing the initial consideration round will be contacted.

Pottermore has announced this afternoon that Jude Law will be taking on the role of Young Dumbledore in the next Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them film. The sequel to Fantastic Beasts is slated for release 16 November 2018, and filming begins this summer.  Three more films will follow after this sequel. According to the article:

The second film in the Fantastic Beasts series will show Dumbledore decades before he became Headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

At this point in the story he is the wizarding school’s Transfiguration professor and a contemporary of Gellert Grindelwald – the Dark wizard we met in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, played by Johnny Depp.

On the announcement Potter and Fantastic Beasts director David Yates said: “Jude Law is a phenomenally talented actor whose work I’ve long admired and I’m looking forward to finally having the opportunity to work with him. I know he will brilliantly capture all the unexpected facets of Albus Dumbledore as J.K. Rowling reveals this very different time in his life.”

The article also gives a tiny bit of information regarding the plot of this second film, which “takes the story deeper into an increasingly dark time for the wizarding world, where Newt and our other heroes must decide on their allegiances.”