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Pandemonium hit Hall H during Warner Bros.’ Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them presentation when star Eddie Redmayne walked off the stage and waded into the crowd, handing out magic wands to attendees.
The Oscar-winning actor took on hugs and photo ops in the process, while Warner Bros. staff wandered the room trying to fulfill a promise of a wand for all 6,500 people in the room.
(For the record, The Hollywood Reporter didn’t get one.)
It was quite the start for the panel, which saw Redmayne later joined by actors Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Colin Farrell, Ezra Miller and Dan Fogler, followed by the reveal of the first full-on trailer of the Harry Potter spinoff.
Director David Yates, who also helmed the last four films in the Harry Potter series, talked about what types of beasts can be expected from the film, including one that can sniff out treasure and another that can shift in size.
The highly anticipated prequel to the Harry Potter films follows the story of magizoologist Newt Scamander (Redmayne) as he makes his way to the Magical Congress of the United States of America in the 1920s. Things go south when Newt’s magical beasts escape from his expanding briefcase, after which he is forced to collect them.
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling wrote the screenplay for the Warner Bros. film, the first in a planned trilogy. The actors stressed how involved Rowling was throughout the production, with Farrell recounting how she saw a cloak he was due to wear and had it redone.
“Nothing gets in front the camera before her checking it first,” he said.
Fogler, who plays the film’s onscreen muggle (or No-Maj), was asked how he felt about his non-magical status. “You know, Han Solo wasn’t a Jedi,” he responded.
Fantastic Beasts and where to Find Them hits theaters Nov. 18.
Bookmark THR.com/ComicCon to keep up with all the highlights.
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