Fantastic Beasts 2 opens casting call for teenage actors

Would-be teenage actors could find themselves starring alongside Eddie Redmayne and Johnny Depp in the next instalment of the Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them franchise.

An announcement on the Pottermore website reveals producers Warner Bros have opened a casting call to find teenage versions of some key characters.

They are searching for actors between the ages of 13 and 16 to play young versions of Newt Grindelwald (Redmayne), Leta Lestrange, who was portrayed in the first film by Zoe Kravitz, and a character called "Sebastian".

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Actors between 16 and 18 are also needed to fill the boots of Albus Dumbledore, who'll also be played by Jude Law, and Gellert Grindelwald (Depp).

They'll need to be available for filming between August and November, suggesting they will be in the first half of the shoot.

Plot details are still shrouded in mystery, although Harry Potter author JK Rowling revealed at the end of May that she had completed her work on the screenplay.

Despite the secrecy, the casting call infers the story will be feature Newt's teenage years. Given the first Fantastic Beasts was set in 1926, that means the sequel will head even further back in time, "possibly to an Edwardian England", Screen Rant says. It thinks the timeline will shift between the more recent storylines, involving the older characters, and flashbacks to when they were teenagers.

Screen Rant also speculates Fantastic Beasts 2 will will chart the days of the rivalry between Grindelwald and Dumbledore, which Rowling alluded to in the Harry Potter books.

Fantastic Beasts 2 is due out in 2018.