Warner Bros. is stepping back into the Harry Potter universe with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a separate story that takes place 70 years before Potter shows up at Hogwarts. This film follows Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), a “magizoologist” who wrote one of the textbooks that Harry and his friends eventually study. Author J.K. Rowling is making her screenwriting debut, and Potter helmer David Yates is returning to direct.

The Wrap reports that several actors have appeared on a new shortlist for roles in the film. Dakota Fanning, Saoirse Ronan, Lili Simmons (Banshee), and Alison Sudol (Transparent, Dig) are in contention for the role of Queenie, while supermodel Kate Upton (The Other Woman), Katherine Waterston (Inherent Vice), and Elizabeth Debicki (The Great Gatsby) are being eyed for the role of Tina, Queenie’s older sister. In the book, Newt Scamander is married to a woman named Porpentina, so it seems like this “Tina” role is that of his eventual wife. The report states that several of these actresses have test deals in place and are expected to read opposite Redmayne over the next week, so I expect we’ll be hearing an official casting announcement soon.

In addition, Variety’s Justin Kroll says that a few actors are up for the role of Jacob, Newt’s rival: Steve Zissis (who is great on the HBO series Togetherness), Zack Pearlman (The Inbetweeners), and Dan Fogler (Fanboys) are among them.

Fantastic Beasts hits theaters on November 18, 2016. Who would you like to see join the cast?

Son of Rambow, We’re The Millers, and The Maze Runner actor Will Poulter will reportedly star alongside Brad Pitt in Pitt’s new Netflix movie War Machine.

Variety has the news, and they also confirm that Topher Grace, Scoot McNairy, Emory Cohen, John Magaro, and Anthony Michael Hall are all also on board in the story of a rock star general (Pitt) who is placed in charge of America’s conflict in Afghanistan. Writer-director David Michôd (The Rover, Animal Kingdom) will be behind the camera on this one, and the movie will hit both the streaming platform and select theaters sometime next year.

In a surprise bit of casting, Poulter was recently set to play Pennywise the Clown in Cary Fukunaga’s two-movie take on Stephen King’s It, but since Fukunaga has left the project (Mama director Andy Muschietti recently took over), that casting may not stick. Still, Poulter will appear opposite Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy in The Revenant later this year, so even if all of this somehow falls through, he’ll still be in what’s likely to be one of the most-watched films of this year’s award season.

For thirty years, Star Wars fans have been wondering what happened after the events of Return of the Jedi. And now we finally have our first concrete information about what went down between the ending of that film and the start of J.J. Abrams’ upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

A comic called Shattered Empire, one of the 20 different stories Lucasfilm is releasing between now and December 18th, is the source of this new information. We’ve already seen some art for the release, which hits shelves on September 2nd (variant cover above, via /Film), and it’s been reported that the story is told through the eyes of C-3PO, but now we have a detailed official synopsis that actually gives some legitimate information about what happens following the destruction of the second Death Star:

In December, a new chapter in the Star Wars saga will begin when Star Wars: The Force Awakens — the seventh Star Wars film and the first to take place after Return of the Jedi — arrives in theaters. As the excitement for the new film builds, Lucasfilm and its partners will explore the aftermath of Return of the Jedi in a series of canonical projects debuting in September, and Marvel Comics leads the way with Greg Rucka and Marco Checchetto’s Star Wars: Journey to The Force Awakens: Shattered Empire #1 (JUL150767)!

Emperor Palpatine’s twenty-year reign of terror came to an abrupt and fiery end in the skies above the forest moon of Endor. A decisive victory for the Rebel Alliance, to be sure, but even with the loss of its leadership, the Empire’s Moffs and regional governors retained their hold on important systems from the Core to the Outer Rim, thanks to the might of the Imperial Starfleet. Now, with a power vacuum atop the Empire, those Moffs will jockey for position and control, and the heroes of the Rebel Alliance will soon discover that a wounded and fractious Empire may be more dangerous than any threat they faced before!

Greg Rucka, the acclaimed writer of Wolverine and Cyclops, reteams with his collaborator on The Punisher, Marco Checchetto, for a Star Wars tale that will reveal the untold story of the aftermath of the Battle of Endor and the political machinations that ensued. The Rebellion’s desperate struggle to liberate the galaxy from the Empire’s tyranny will face new challenges, and Rucka and Checchetto will bring their incisive storytelling to a story that no Star Wars fan will want to miss.

A new addition to the Star Wars canon, Star Wars: Journey to The Force Awakens: Shattered Empire will take readers into uncharted territory and set the groundwork for the new Star Wars film. Put your Empire Strikes Back soundtrack in the stereo and cue up “The Imperial March” when you read Rucka and Checchetto’s Star Wars: Journey to The Force Awakens: Shattered Empire #1 (JUL150767) this September!

So it sounds like the Rebellion will have to contend with some Moffs who are trying to shoulder their way in to fill the leadership positions that have been…vacated by Palpatine and Vader. What do you all think? Looking forward to reading Shattered Empire?

STAR WARS: Here’s What Happens Between RETURN OF THE JEDI and THE FORCE AWAKENS

Last week, Entertainment Weekly spread out a bunch of stories related to Star Wars: The Force Awakens so fans got a lot of new information to chew on. Now Empire Magazine is here with a new Star Wars-themed cover, and we hope they a similar amount of new information to share with us over the coming days.

The cover features the trio of baddies from the movie, including Gwendoline Christie’s Captain Phasma, Domnhall Gleeson’s General Hux, and Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren, who’s wielding that crossguard lightsaber. The image itself isn’t too awe-inspiring, but we’re hoping this is just a small tease of what’s to come.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens in theaters December 18, 2015. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is directed by J.J. Abrams from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan & Abrams, and features a cast including actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o, Gwendoline Christie, Crystal Clarke, Pip Andersen, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow. They will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker. The film is being produced by Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and Bryan Burk, and John Williams returns as the composer.

Film director and GeekTyrant reader James Campbell needs your help. His Batman fan film, Ripper, is nearly complete, but they need money for the final 20% of the film to be able to complete the project. Ripper: A Batman Fan Film pits the caped crusader against one of the first serial killers in recorded history. It’s also based on the 1991 Elseworlds adventure, Gotham By Gaslight. The teaser trailer is something amazing. To be honest, I was not expecting this level of production! I hope to see the finished project! Click here if you want to support fellow Tyrant James!

Interesting Trailer For 18th Century Batman Fan Film: RIPPER