Entertainment Weeklys latest issue gives us our first proper look at the monstrous occupants of Newt Scamanders Tardis-like briefcase
The Harry Potter books and movies would not have been quite the same without the boisterous cavalcade of magical creatures with which JK Rowling populated her wild and whimsical wizarding world. Who could forget Goblet of Fires majestic dragons, the hippogriffs of Prisoner of Azkaban, Chamber of Secrets giant arachnid, Aragog, or the soul-sucking dementors?
Now, thanks to the new issue of Entertainment Weekly, we have our first proper look at some of the monstrous entities who look set to escape from the Tardis-like briefcase of Eddie Redmaynes Newt Scamander in the upcoming prequel Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Some could prove almost impossible to catch
We know the basic premise of Fantastic Beasts. Scamander arrives in the Big Apple, suffers a mishap that causes many of his pet monstrosities to escape, and presumably spends the rest of the movie trying to put everything back in the box. But how do you go about re-capturing a Demiguise, described as a primate-like creature that resembles a silver-haired orangutan with large, doleful black eyes, when the darned thing has the ability to go invisible at any time and can also use its magical abilities to predict what youre about to do next? This particular beast could be harder to track down than Pikachu.
Others look more cute than scary
The cheeky little Niffler, were told, resembles a cross between a mole and a duck-billed platypus. But dont be fooled by its benign countenance, the ferrety little magical marsupial is after your treasures. It will go hunting for precious things coins, jewelry or just about anything shiny with relentless determination, before carting off any ill-gotten gains in its seemingly bottomless pouch.
Newt might not be the only ones after them
Theres a reason the bumbling magizoologist keeps his magical creatures safely out of sight: some of them are very valuable indeed. The aforementioned Demiguise is sought after for its pelt, which can be made into invisibility coats. And the sinister Occamy, described as a plumed, two-legged, winged creature with a serpentine body … like a cross between a dragon and a bird lays eggs of pure silver. Its also capable of contracting or expanding in size depending on its environment.
Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy has a cute little cousin
As briefly mentioned in Order of the Phoenix, the Bowtruckle is a plant-like species that can apparently be used to pick locks. Scamander is said to have several of these as pets, and keeps one named Pickett in his top pocket. Its not yet known if they are capable of Groot-like speech or funky disco dancing moves.
Thunderbirds are go
A majestic white bird seen briefly in Fantastic Beasts recent trailers, this creature has the ability to see danger before it happens and can create storms with the beating of its wings, which must be useful when theres a drought on in its native Arizona. Were told Scamander promised to return a Thunderbird named Frank to its home after rescuing the creature from traffickers in Egypt, which might just explain what the English wizard is doing in north America in the first place.
Regular Rowling watchers might recall that the author-turned-screenwriter was accused of appropriating indigenous culture for her debut foray into North American wizarding culture back in March. The Thunderbird is a legendary creature in many Native American cultures, so there could be more trouble brewing here.
Fear now has wings
The freakiest beastie on show, and perhaps the fastest if its fleeting appearance in trailers is anything to go by, looks to be a flying reptile named Swooping Evil that might just be Fantastic Beasts answer to the terrifying dementors. Resembling a spiky butterfly or airborne manta ray in terms of its shape and mode of flight, it also has the unfortunate habit of sucking the brains out of living creatures, like a cross between a vampire and a zombie. Ugh.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/aug/15/fantastic-beasts-and-where-to-find-creatures