FANTASTIC BEASTS: Katherine Waterson Lands A Lead Role Opposite Eddie Redmayne

Waterston will play the pivotal role of Tina, short for Porpentina, a witch who -- unlike the beloved characters from Rowling's Harry Potter books -- works her magic in the U.S. She meets magizoologist Newt Scamander (Redmayne) when he stops in New York City on his travels to find and document magical creatures.

Set in New York roughly seven decades before Harry Potter's saga starts, "Fantastic Beasts" is based on the Hogwarts textbook of the same name and follows the adventures of its author, Newt Scamander. Scamander is described as a "magiczoologist," which in the "Harry Potter" realm is a person who studies magical creatures. Besides Scamander, there are four other main roles -- two American girls and two American boys -- that the studio is looking to cast.