JK Rowling's Harry Potter spin-off film seeks young star

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is JK Rowling's first film script

An open casting call is to be held to find a girl to star in JK Rowling's Harry Potter spin-off film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Film studio Warner Bros is looking for a girl between the ages of eight and 12 to play the character of Modesty.

"Modesty is a haunted young girl with an inner strength and stillness," the studio said. "She has an ability to see deep into people and understand them."

The casting call will take place at the Excel Centre in London on Saturday.

The chosen youngster will star opposite Eddie Redmayne in what is bound to be one of the biggest film releases of next year.

Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne will play magizoologist Newt Scamander

Rowling has written the screenplay for the film, which is based on a Harry Potter spin-off book she published in 2001.

Redmayne will play "magizoologist" Newt Scamander, who writes a Hogwarts School textbook about the weird and wonderful fictional creatures he encounters.

Hopeful actresses have been invited to start queuing from 09:00 BST on Saturday.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is expected to be released on 18 November 2016.

Writing on her Facebook page in 2013, JK Rowling said: "Although it will be set in the worldwide community of witches and wizards where I was so happy for 17 years, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is neither a prequel nor a sequel to the Harry Potter series, but an extension of the wizarding world.

"The laws and customs of the hidden magical society will be familiar to anyone who has read the Harry Potter books or seen the films, but Newt's story will start in New York, 70 years before Harry's gets under way."