Jessica Williams, right, in 2014. She has been revealed as playing Prof. Lally Hicks in the newest Fantastic Beasts film. (Dwong19 | Dreamstime.com)
Like all great fantasy and sci-fi series, the Harry Potter universe never really stops growing. It all starts with the books, which are some of the best-selling of all time.
The Hogwarts Castle found in the Universal Orlando theme park. (Getty Embed)
In turn, they have inspired everything from home decor to commercials to full-blown festivals where fans can get into character and live like they're off to Hogwarts themselves.
Fantastic films (and where to watch them)
Actor Eddie Redmayne plays Newt Scamander in the Fantastic Beasts films. (Getty Embed)
But if the books themselves are still the ultimate Potter experience, they are followed closely by the films. Actors like Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane, and Maggie Smith are just a few of the names who brought life to beloved characters like Harry, Hermione, Professor Snape, Hagrid, and Professor McGonagall. And shortly after that series ended in 2011, a new one began in 2016 with Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them.
That series is scheduled to have five films, with the second one—Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald—coming out this November. And just last Sunday, author and Potter mastermind J.K. Rowling dropped more news about the upcoming film. Actor Jessica Williams will be playing an intriguing character named Professor Eulalie "Lally" Hicks. The pair were hanging out in New York City, watching some Broadway musical called Harry Potter And The Cursed Child. What are the odds?!
Fan for life, dream come true
Rowling said that the character is not scheduled to be a huge part of the second film, but that she will become a significant part of the story in film three.
You only see a HINT of Lally in Fantastic Beasts 2. Her true glory is revealed in FB3. https://t.co/8vyhdlU71m
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) April 22, 2018
We do know that Lally Hicks is a professor at the North American-based Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The school has a reputation of being more open-minded than many such schools, but Hicks' subject—and role in the larger story—is not yet known.
Though we already knew since last year that Jessica Williams was going to have a small role in the film, this is the first time that we've heard who she is playing. She clearly couldn't be more excited to be involved in the films. The 28 year-old spent her grade school years obsessing over the Potter books. And now she's in a Potter series!
Does that mean that all of you young Rowling fans might find yourselves in the same position in 10 or 15 years? It doesn't exactly seem like they're ready to stop making books or movies about the universe, does it? Watch the trailer for the next Fantastic Beasts film below.
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