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Plot of Fantastic Beasts: American Wizards in Fear of Muggles, Probably Because of Their Awful Name

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Eddie Redmayne in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

We got lost under a pile of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them news yesterday and maybe focused a bit too much on Eddie Redmayne’s costume and the terrible, awful, no good, very bad name for American muggles. Why? Well it seems we missed the actual plot details somewhere in all the fun, so let’s think too hard about those now.

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Of course, it’s Entertainment Weekly with the scoop, as they’re the ones who showed us Redmayne in all his 11th-Doctor-looking glory. Hey, speaking of Doctor Who

Eccentric magizoologist Newt Scamander (Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne) comes to New York (for a reason we won’t disclose) with his trusty weathered case. This case is one of those way-way-way-bigger-on-the-inside magical devices, and within are expansive habitats for a collection of rare and endangered magical creatures from Newt’s travels around globe.

It’s bigger on the inside, you say? And it contains habitats for rare magical creatures? So … Scamander is some kind of Time Lord/Pokémon master hybrid? OK, you’ve got my attention.

He discovers the American wizarding community is fearfully hiding from Muggles (who are called “No-Maj” in the States, more on that here) and the threat of public exposure is an even graver concern than in the UK (remember the Salem witch trials?). Fantastic Beasts is the story of what happens when this uniquely skilled English wizard travels to wiz-phobic America and a variety of his creatures, some quite dangerous … get out of their case.

Whoopsie. Well, I can’t really blame Americans for not being too fond of wizards what with the whole “No-Maj” thing. Seriously, J.K., we’re sorry for renaming Philosopher’s Stone to something more on-the-nose already. Please don’t punish us like this.

(image via Entertainment Weekly and Warner Bros.)

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Dan Van Winkle
Dan Van Winkle (he) is an editor and manager who has been working in digital media since 2013, first at now-defunct <em>Geekosystem</em> (RIP), and then at <em>The Mary Sue</em> starting in 2014, specializing in gaming, science, and technology. Outside of his professional experience, he has been active in video game modding and development as a hobby for many years. He lives in North Carolina with Lisa Brown (his wife) and Liz Lemon (their dog), both of whom are the best, and you will regret challenging him at <em>Smash Bros.</em>

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