According to the Hollywood Reporter it is official … Eddie will star in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Eddie Redmayne is about to find out where to find J.K. Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts come from, with the actor signing on to star in the forthcoming prequel to the successful Harry Potter series of books.

Redmayne will play Newt Scamander, the foremost magizoologist of the world of the Wizarding world introduced in Rowling’s series of best-selling novels and subsequent feature films. Scamander will be at the center of the new movie, searching the world for new magical creatures to discover and catalog in his Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which will become a textbook used by Harry and friends in Hogwarts school in years to come. (The Hollywood Reporter noted that Redmayne was a frontrunner for the role in April.)

In a statement accompanying the announcement, Warner Bros. president of creative development Greg Silverman said that Redmayne had “emerged as one of today’s most extraordinarily talented and acclaimed actors,” adding that the studio was “thrilled to welcome him into J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World, where we know he will deliver a remarkable performance.”

Rowling moved into screenwriting for the project, making her debut on Fantastic Beasts, which will be directed by David Yates, who directed the final four entries into the Harry Potter series. Producers on the project include Rowling, David Heyman, Lionel Wigram and Steve Kloves, who worked on the scripts for all but one of the Potter movies.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is scheduled for a Nov. 18, 2016 release in 3D and IMAX.