Fantastic Beasts Movie Creatures Revealed

It’s time to take a look at some of the fantastical creatures that will appear in the upcoming Harry Potter prequel, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Let’s begin with a Niffler. While it looks like a cross between a mole and a duck-billed platypus, the design of this gentle creature, which is attracted to anything that glitters, is actually inspired by another animal. “One of the big inspirations was the honey badger,” Fantastic Beasts visual effects supervisor Christian Manz told Entertainment Weekly. “We saw some great footage of a honey badger raiding somebody’s house with a completely insatiable desire to find food and nothing would get in its way.”

Next up is a Bowtruckle, a small creature that resembles a plant and spends its days guarding trees that wands are made of. “The Bowtruckle eats only insects, and is a sweet and intensely shy creature, but extremely loyal, and it can be very handy to have around when there are locks to pick.”

In the film, Newt Scramander (Eddie Redmayne) will have four of them in his case; however, one of them will receive preferential treatment. “Pickett has attachment issues, so Newt knows he shouldn’t have favorites, but like he loves Pickett to sit in his top pocket,” Redmayne said. “I felt for him quite badly.”

Let’s move on to the Thunderbird, a magical bird that is held in high regard. So much so, that’s one of the four Houses at America’s Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is named after it. “The Thunderbird is a large, regal avian creature native to the arid climate of Arizona. Its head is similar to that of an eagle or, in the wizarding world, a Hippogriff. Its multiple powerful wings shimmer with cloud-and sun-like patterns and their flapping can create storms. Thunderbirds can also sense danger.”

Then there’s the Swooping Evil! “Looks like a cross between a reptile and an extremely large butterfly, when at rest, the Swooping Evil lives in a green spiny cocoon. But when it spreads its colorful, spiked wings, it is strangely beautiful.”

The fifth creature is the Demiguise. This primate-like creature with silver fur can become invisible whenever it likes and has the ability to perceive future events. “The Demiguise is fundamentally a peaceful beast, but it will give a rather nasty nip when provoked or feels threatened. Unfortunately for the Demiguise, its long, silky, silvery hair can be spun into Invisibility Cloaks, making its pelt highly valuable.”

Lastly, we have the Occamy. “The Occamy is a plumed, two-legged, winged creature with a serpentine body, making it look like a cross between a dragon and a bird. It is hatched from eggs, the shells of which are made of the purest silver and worth a fortune.” Additionally, the size of these creatures varies based on the size of their habitat. So, just imagine how big one might get if it was able to grow in New York.

Check out the gallery below to see images of all of these creatures.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is an all-new adventure returning us to the wizarding world created by J.K. Rowling. Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) stars in the central role of wizarding world magizoologist Newt Scamander, under the direction of David Yates, who helmed the last four Harry Potter blockbusters. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them opens in 1926 as Newt Scamander has just completed a global excursion to find and document an extraordinary array of magical creatures. Arriving in New York for a brief stopover, he might have come and gone without incident…were it not for a No-Maj (American for Muggle) named Jacob, a misplaced magical case, and the escape of some of Newt’s fantastic beasts, which could spell trouble for both the wizarding and No-Maj worlds.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them also stars Katherine Waterston (Steve Jobs, Inherent Vice) as Tina; Tony Award winner Dan Fogler (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee) as Jacob; Alison Sudol (Dig, Transparent) as Tina’s sister, Queenie; Ezra Miller (Trainwreck) as Credence; two-time Oscar nominee Samantha Morton (In America, Sweet and Lowdown) as Mary Lou; Oscar winner Jon Voight (Coming Home, TV’s Ray Donovan) as Henry Shaw, Sr.; Ron Perlman (the Hellboy films) as Gnarlack; Carmen Ejogo (Selma) as Seraphina; Jenn Murray (Brooklyn) as Chastity; young newcomer Faith Wood-Blagrove as Modesty; and Colin Farrell (True Detective) as Percival Graves.

Warner Bros. Pictures has slated Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them for worldwide release in 2D and 3D in select theatres and IMAX on November 18, 2016.