Alfonso Cuaron in Talks to Direct 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'

It may seem like a lifetime ago but Warner Bros.' Harry Potter franchise didn't get off to the most solid of footing. Chris Columbus directed the first two films and while they performed well at the box office, creatively they were lacking the magic of J.K. Rowling's books. It wasn't until Alfonso Cuaron came aboard with The Prisoner of Azkaban and injected a maturity and wonder into the series that it really took off and never looked back. And maybe Rowling recognizes that and wants to get her Harry Potter spinoff, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, off on the right foot.

According to Nikki Finke (hey, forgot about her), Cuaron is in "deep talks" to direct the spinoff, which is envisioned as a trilogy set 70 years before the arrival of young Harry Potter. The story is inspired by the titular textbook and follows the adventures of magizoologist Newt Scamander, exploring the many magical creatures and characters that will be familiar to fans of Rowling's books and movies.

Cuaron is coming off seven Academy Award win for Gravity, including one for Best Director. He's familiar with the wizarding world and said last year he may be interested in returning to direct the spinoff...

Cuaron: "Akzaban was fun to make, and when I did it, I was invited to do the next one, but I didn’t want to overstay the welcome, because it was such an experience. But now? Why not? I do have stuff that I want to do [next], but a J.K. thing ..."

Looks like that's exactly what is going to happen. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is set to open November 18th 2016.