Eddie Redmayne Talks J.K. Rowling, Trans Rights As Fantastic Beasts 3 Resumes Filming

Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scaa

Among the many ways the general public is aware of actor Eddie Redmayne is from him playing Newt Scamander in the Fantastic Beasts film series. Redmayne has brought the intelligent, yet introverted wizard to life twice so far, and naturally he’ll be back for next year’s Fantastic Beasts 3. With filming on the threequel having resumed, Redmayne recently gave his take on the controversy surrounding the creator of the Wizarding World lore, J.K. Rowling.

The Harry Potter author and screenwriter of the Fantastic Beasts movies has come under fire over the last several months after tweeting a series of posts about the transgender community that many people found offensive. In the aftermath, actors like Daniel Radcliffe and Harry Potter fan sites like MuggleNet and The Leaky Cauldron have come out in support of transgender people.

While speaking with The Daily Mail, Eddie Redmayne mentioned how was alarmed by the “vitriol” that was directed at J.K. Rowling on social media, which he described as “absolutely disgusting” and led him to sending her a private note. However, Redmayne also said he disagreed with her comments, noting that he has many “trans friends and colleagues” who are having their “human rights challenged around the world and facing discrimination on a daily basis.” Describing the insults that have been directed at the transgender community as “absolutely disgusting,” the actor continued:

Similarly, there continues to be a hideous torrent of abuse towards trans people online and out in the world that is devastating.

So while Eddie Redmayne made it abundantly clear that his views on the transgender community do not align with J.K. Rowling’s, he was nonetheless displeased with the general public reaction’s towards what she said. Redmayne previously played a trans woman in the 2015 historical drama The Danish Girl, which netted him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

Along with his comments about J.K. Rowling, Eddie Redmayne also recently talked about how he doesn’t like to discuss political topics because he’s afraid his public platform could end up serving as a detriment to causes he cares about. Ironically, Redmayne’s next movie sees him diving deep into the political arena, as he’s playing activist Tom Hayden in Netflix’s The Trial of the Chicago 7.

As for Fantastic Beasts 3, it was supposed to begin filming in mid-March, but because of the current health crisis, production had to be delayed at the last minute, and cameras didn’t actually start rolling until last week. No official plot details have been revealed about the threequel yet, but Redmayne will be joined by plenty of familiar faces, including Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Jude Law and Johnny Depp and Jessica William, the latter of whom will have an expanded role after her character, Professor Eulalie "Lally" Hicks, briefly appeared in The Crimes of Grindelwald.

Fantastic Beasts 3 will work its magic in theaters on November 12, 2021. Find out what other movies are supposed to come out next year with our 2021 release schedule.

Adam Holmes
Senior Content Producer

Connoisseur of Marvel, DC, Star Wars, John Wick, MonsterVerse and Doctor Who lore, Adam is a Senior Content Producer at CinemaBlend. He started working for the site back in late 2014 writing exclusively comic book movie and TV-related articles, and along with branching out into other genres, he also made the jump to editing. Along with his writing and editing duties, as well as interviewing creative talent from time to time, he also oversees the assignment of movie-related features. He graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Journalism, and he’s been sourced numerous times on Wikipedia. He's aware he looks like Harry Potter and Clark Kent.