'Fantastic Beasts' Burning Questions Answered... by J.K. Rowling

By Will Thorne, Variety

Fantastic Beasts fans tweeted J.K. Rowling and the author used the alohomora charm to unlock details from the new film and discuss potential character returns for the second installment in the saga.

Warning, there are very mild spoilers from the film below.

In a Twitter Q&A with fans following the Beasts‘ huge opening weekend, Rowling revealed that free-spirited legilimens Queenie Goldstein (Alison Sudol) would be returning for the second film, and that the timeline for the series starts in 1926 and will conclude in 1945.

The Harry Potter author also confirmed fans’ suspicions that Newt Scamander was indeed wearing a Hufflepuff House scarf throughout much of the film. The bumbling yet lovable Scamander, played by Eddie Redmayne, provides a strong role model for budding Hufflepuffs, a House which is much maligned by Harry Potter fans because of its lack of interesting characters in the original books. The only notable Hufflepuff from the Harry Potter series was Cedric Diggory (Robert Pattinson), and look what happened to him.

Fans were also apparently concerned as to the fate of Frank, a colossal Thunderbird who plays a key role in Fantastic Beasts. Rowling was quick to reassure that Frank made it safely home to his native Arizona.

One impatient fan asked Rowling “why was Newt allowed to keep his wand & do magic, and work for the ministry,” citing the example of Hagrid as someone who was expelled and then had his wand confiscated and was prohibited from performing magic. However, Rowling chose to leave everyone in suspense, answering, “All will become clear. Trust me.”

Fans will have to wait at least November 2018 for the sequel. Rowling teased that if she didn’t respond, it’s because there are four more movies to go, two more than originally planned.

Check out some of her responses below.