The First Trailer for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them has been Found

Hot on the heels of new trailers for Star Trek, X-Men, and Independence Day, Warner Bros. has released the first trailer for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the upcoming Harry Potter prequel starring Eddie Redmayne as introverted textbook author Newt Scamander.

Unfortunately, the trailer itself feels a little underwhelming, especially given the recent deluge of big-budget sizzle reels. It could be that I’ll always think of Harry Potter primarily as a book franchise rather than a film franchise. It could also be the fact that we don’t see much of anything in this trailer, which features a lot of logos mixed in with only a few seconds of actual footage.

Still, there are a few reasons to be excited about the upcoming film. For one thing, it’s an original work rather than an adaptation, which means that Fantastic Beasts will not suffer the same impossible expectations that saddled the earlier films. The plot synopsis also sounds, well, fantastic – Scamander has to track down a series of imported beasts after accidentally setting them loose in New York City – and the concept seems to have the same blend of whimsy and social tension that allowed Harry Potter to resonate with so many fans. The script was also written by J.K. Rowling, who knows a thing or two about the Harry Potter universe.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them won’t be out until November 2016, so Warner Bros. still has plenty of time to generate hype with more trailers and announcements. Maybe next time we’ll get a better look at the fantastic beasts that need finding.