J.K. Rowling casts spell over moviegoers with 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- It's been five years since fans have been able to visit Harry Potter and his friends at Hogwarts in the magical franchise from J.K Rowling.

But the "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" will provide fans with a prequel to the Harry Potter series when it opens on Friday.

The spin-off takes place many decades before Potter was born and features Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne as a writer named Newt Scamander who travels the world to research fantastical creatures.

Redmayne and his co-star Katherine Waterston think the real star of the movie is the woman who wrote it: Rowling.

"My god this world is endless, there's so much to discover," said Waterston. "But of course it is all from this one woman's incredible mind."

"It's so thorough as well," said Redmayne. "Her capacity to find the idea of these two worlds, the magical worlds, the muggle world living and coinciding with each other."

"She doesn't underestimate the intelligence of young people," added Waterston." And there are certain things they are more open to and we get conditioned as we get older to kind of close off ourselves off form fantasy and magic and wonder and she's inviting us all back into that."

"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" is rated PG-13 and will be in theaters on Friday.