Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice introduced most people to Katherine Waterston, and apparently that includes producers in Hollywood. She's been up for a number of roles since, and late last month she was mentioned along with Kate Upton, Saoirse Ronan, Dakota Fanning, and more for the female lead in Harry Potter spinoff, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and it looks like she came out on top.
Waterston will join Eddie Redmayne in the Potter prequel, which takes place in New York decades before the boy wizard's birth. Waterston will play Tina (aka Porpentina), wife to magizoologist Newt Scamander, a professor who arrives in New York City to document all of the magical creatures he encounters. The role of Tina's sister, Queenie, and Newt's rival Jacob still need to be filled but expect those decisions to come down soon.
Waterston will be seen next opposite Corey Stoll in Glass Chin, in what is a small, somewhat bizarre role. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them open November 18th 2016. [THR]
