Book Cover for J.K. Rowling's Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald Screenplay Revealed!

The cover for the second Fantastic Beasts screenplay, written by J.K. Rowling, is here, adorned with illustrations and clues that hint at the second film's story.

While Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald hits cinemas 16 November, the new film will once again be accompanied by the publication of the original screenplay, written by J.K. Rowling. We can now exclusively reveal the cover for the screenplay, which will be published in Australia by Hachette, in the UK by Little, Brown, Scholastic in the US, and in the French language for Gallimard – who will publish the screenplay globally on the same day.

Pottermore will be releasing digital versions of the books for all markets too, if your bookshelf is getting a little too stacked.

The cover has been created by MinaLima, the graphic design team behind the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films. The cover compliments MinaLima's nuanced design of the first Fantastic Beasts screenplay – once again embellished with mysterious imagery that represent different facets of the story to come.

The artwork pays homage to Paris as one of the cities visited in The Crimes of Grindelwald, with the Eiffel Tower taking central focus. Eagle-eyed fans will also spot a few magical creatures, including a Bowtruckle and a Niffler, along with a few other recognisable Wizarding World symbols, such as the Deathly Hallows. We can also spot a locket with the letters 'NF', a piece of jewellery, and an ominous skull hanging over the top of the cover. But what do all of these mean for the story?

Miraphora Mina and Eduardo Lima spoke to Pottermore about the creative process behind the heavily detailed cover, and how important it was to portray France in their designs.

"The Art Nouveau aesthetic is so strong in this film," the duo explained. "The costumes, the architecture, the colours: that all felt like something we should really push [in the cover]. So while there are Easter eggs and hidden gems in here, they're all knitted in with these swirls and flourishes that really follow that traditional aesthetic."

"The location is so significant in this film and the Eiffel Tower is so iconic it lends itself to this design," Mira added. "And as for the colour, we wanted to keep the gold theme running through, but as the storyline is getting darker, we introduced this black silhouette design. And the overall colour is typical of the period."

Be sure to give the cover a thorough examination and see how many clues you can spot. The announcement of the screenplay represents The Crimes of Grindelwald's three-fold journey across three different countries: North America, the UK and France. Specifically, the story is set to take us to Paris, back to New York, and across the pond to London.

We also know from the trailer that we will be returning to Hogwarts in some form – so there's certainly plenty of ground to cover.

You can pre-order your copy of the screenplay through the Hachette Australia website now.

About the film:

Filmed at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, home to the Harry Potter films for a decade, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is the second picture in the film series written by J.K. Rowling, and directed by David Yates, director of the first Fantastic Beasts film as well as the last four Harry Potter feature films.

The film features an ensemble cast led by Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Zoë Kravitz, Callum Turner, Claudia Kim, William Nadylam, Kevin Guthrie, Carmen Ejogo, Poppy Corby-Tuech, with Jude Law and Johnny Depp.

The film is produced by David Heyman, J.K. Rowling, Steve Kloves and Lionel Wigram. Tim Lewis, Neil Blair, Rick Senat and Danny Cohen serve as executive producers.

Slated for release on November 16, 2018, the film will be distributed worldwide in 2D and 3D in select theatres and IMAX by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
Published by Hachette Australia on Friday November 16, 2018
Author: J.K. Rowling
RRP: $39.99