Eddie Redmayne to reprise “Fantastic Beasts” role in new scenes for Universal experience tying “Beasts” to “Harry Potter” films
EW has confirmed Redmayne filmed new scenes as Newt Scamander, while Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint also appeared in Universal Epic Universe’s preview.
Have you ever dreamed of traveling the Floo Network like your favorite Harry Potter stars? What about taming a fantastic beast (or several) with the flick of a wand in Paris? Universal Orlando's upcoming theme park, Universal Epic Universe, is set to cast a spell that will turn that fantasy into a reality when its new Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Ministry of Magic land opens in 2025.
Entertainment Weekly has confirmed through a source that franchise star Eddie Redmayne will reprise his Fantastic Beasts role as Newt Scamander in the new land, with his new, already-filmed scenes set to appear throughout. Ministry of Magic is touted as the most elaborate of the planned park's five new themed areas, fusing timelines from the eight main Harry Potter films with the three Fantastic Beasts movies. The narratives will converge on a massive plot of land spanning 1920s Paris and 1990s London as guests travel to and from both destinations using the Métro Floo transportation network to dart back and forth.
Partially set within the British Ministry of Magic, the land's marquee attraction will be Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry, which will take travelers on a first-of-its-kind adventure using new omnidirectional technology that allows ride vehicles to travel through sprawling environments in vessels that move up, down, forward, backward, and sideways along one of the company's "most impressive attractions to date," according to a press release.
The ride's story puts guests on a journey from Paris to the British Ministry of Magic for the trial of Dolores Umbridge (played by Imelda Staunton in the films). Visitors enter through the organization's grand atrium (as seen in the Harry Potter movies) ahead of the trial until things go wrong when Umbridge attempts to escape. Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint), Hermione Granger (Emma Watson), and a house elf named Higgledy eventually accompany riders along the pursuit of Umbridge. (EW has reached out to representatives for Radcliffe, Watson, Grint, and Redmayne for comment on their potential return.)
Outside of the main ride, the Ministry of Magic section will feature a live show, Le Cirque Arcanus, billed as a full-scale theater experience with live performers and aerialists, puppetry, special effects, and fantastic beats appearing throughout the production, which follows Ringmaster Skender after he steals Newt Scamander's suitcase.
Consistent with Universal's other Harry Potter-themed parklands, the Ministry of Magic section includes merchandise locations that sell wands and other franchise materials, namely the focal wand location Cosme Acajor Baguettes Magique. Here, attendees can purchase wands and then use them to interact with fantastic beasts sprinkled throughout the Parisian locale.
Harry Potter characters are also set to roam the land, including exchange students from Hogwarts and Ilvermorny schools, an Auror from the Ministère des Affaires Magiques de la France, and even talking portraits.
Dining locations include Café L'Air De La Sirène, Le Gobelet Noir, Bar Moonshine, and a Bièraubeeurre Cart (translation: this is where you can get Butterbeer) — all joined by other smaller shops like Les Galeries Mirifiques, a sweets shop cleverly named K. Rammelle, and Tour En Floo, a gift store inspired by the magic of the Floo Network.
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Epic Universe's Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Ministry of Magic joins two pre-existing Harry Potter-themed lands already operating at Universal Orlando Resort, including 2010's Hogsmeade location that opened at Islands of Adventure and 2014's Diagon Alley expansion that premiered later at Universal Studios Florida.
As previously announced, Epic Universe will also feature lands based on significant intellectual properties, from How to Train Your Dragon's Isle of Berk and the Mario-laden Super Nintendo World to Dark Universe, the resort's first-ever land incorporating classic Universal monsters like Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, and more.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Ministry of Magic is set to open alongside Epic Universe sometime in 2025.
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