Redmayne to narrate Fantastic Beasts audiobook

Eddie Redmayne will narrate an audiobook version of J K Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Pottermore has announced today (27th January).

The audiobook is available for pre-order on Audible today but will go on general release on Pottermore and other audiobook retailers on 14th March. It will feature six new beasts and a new forward ‘by’ Newt Scamander. 

Redmayme, who played Scamander in the recent film adaptation of Fantastic Beasts, said: “Before I was cast in the film, David Yates told me about Newt and this textbook. I found it so funny and so enchanting and really wittily written. But it wasn’t until I started reading it out loud for the audiobook that I realised how tricky and poetic J K Rowling’s use of sounds and language can be. There are some really great tongue twister words in here. Occasionally, I had to stop recording just because I was incapable of saying the words without either laughing or getting my tongue in a muddle. I enjoyed the challenge and hope listeners can sense that in my narration.” 

"Fantastic Beasts" describes the magical creatures of the Harry Potter universe and was originally published in 2001 to raise money for Comic Relief. A film adaptation (the first in a series of five) was released last year, accompanied by a book of the script from Little, Brown.

A new version of the original Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them book will be released later this year, with a new introduction from Rowling and cover artwork by Jonny Duddle and Olly Moss.