Rumors have started to catch fire and spread quickly about the casting of the lead character in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. As of now, Warner Bros and J.K. Rowling have revealed nothing about the Fantastic Beast films, other than they will be filming at Leavesden and that J.K. Rowling is writing the screenplay. With the first movie scheduled to be released next year, production beginning soon (filming is set to start this summer), and still no word of who is gracing the cast list. However, many sources have been spinning rumors of who will play the lead. The current favorite is Matt Smith, most commonly known as the 11th Doctor of the Doctor Who series. Hypable (http://www.hypable.com/matt-smith-fantastic-beasts-and-where-to-find-them/) reports:

Full disclosure: this rumor was started by British tabloid newspaper The Sun. Unfortunately, they are notoriously known for throwing out crazy rumors they know will be picked up by gullible fans like us.

But once in a blue moon, their sources really exist and the rumor turns out to be well-founded, so we’re going to go ahead and let ourselves imagine the possibility: Matt Smith might be playing Newt Scamander in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Matt Smith, of course, is best known for playing the Eleventh Doctor in Doctor Who. He can next be seen in Terminator: Genisys, and also has a zombie movie titled Patient Zero(no, not Prisoner Zero!) coming up. He has signed up for several more Terminator films. His schedule is probably pretty packed.

And yet, when The Sun says that Smith is interested in Fantastic Beasts, we believe it. Not only is Smith a huge Harry Potter fan, but with the screenplay written by J.K. Rowling herself and David Yates returning as director, everyone’s predicting that this movie is going to be a huge success – both commercially and critically.

The Irish Examiner added fuel to the fire that The Sun started, saying:

The former Doctor Who star is said to be “favourite” to play adventurer and “magizoologist” Newt Scamander in the Harry Potter spin-off film, reported The Sun.

There is already a Change.org petition for film bosses to offer Matt the role.

Benedict Cumberbatch has also been linked to the role.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/entertainment/matt-smith-tipped-for-fantastic-beasts-role-668806.html