It was only a matter of time: The world of Harry Potter is officially coming back to the big screen for a brand-new, full-fledged trilogy.

We’d already heard rumblings that J.K. Rowling would make her screenwriting debut with an adaptation of her 2001 Harry Potter spinoff book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which was introduced as a Hogwarts textbook and subsequently written by Rowling and published in its own right.

The book is technically a textbook on magical creatures, and the film adaptations will reportedly follow fictional “magizoologist” Newt Scamander on his adventures and research to write the book, set 70 years before the events of Harry Potter. Now, to no one’s surprise, Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara has confirmed to The New York Times that the project has grown into a trilogy of films.

The report calls the films “megamovies” and notes that they will not be prequels or sequels to the existing Harry Potter films, just set in the same universe. We’re guessing “megamovies” would mean big-budget tentpoles, which makes sense, considering Potter is one of the biggest franchises in history.

Rowling also dropped some info on the project, noting it was essentially born over one meal with Tsujihara that got her wheels turning. The CEO then championed the project, Rowling got to work, and here we are:

“When I say he made Fantastic Beasts happen, it isn't PR-speak but the literal truth. We had one dinner, a follow-up telephone call, and then I got out the rough draft that I'd thought was going to be an interesting bit of memorabilia for my kids and started rewriting! When Kevin got the top job, he brought a new energy, which rubbed off. He's a very engaging person, thoughtful and funny.”

Are you glad to hear the Potter-verse is coming back to life, albeit without Harry and the gang?

(Via The New York Times, Digital Spy)