Eddie Redmayne to star in Harry Potter spin-off - report

Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne is set to star in the upcoming Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, according to a new report.

The Theory of Everything star is the producers' first choice to play the lead character in the film adaptation of author J.K. Rowling's 2001 book, reports Variety.com.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is set 70 years before the events of the Potter series and centres on a fictitious author named Newton Artemis Fido Scamander.

Filmmaker David Yates, who directed the final four installments of the Potter franchise, is in talks to work on the project, which is set for a November, 2016 release.