Harry Potter fans: hang on to your broomsticks, grip tight your wands – you're going to be in for a magical ride again.
For it has just been announced that JK Rowling is to write a new series of films inspired by the mighty Harry Potter franchise.
And the magical twist in the tale is that the first movie will be set 70 years before Harry was born.
Making her debut as a screenwriter, Rowling will tell the back story to one of Hogwarts' set textbooks, 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'.
The film will follow the adventures of the textbook's fictitious author, Newt Scamander, and is intended to be the first in a new franchise of films.
The multi-millionaire author 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 underway."
Warner Bros. chief executive officer Kevin Tsujihara described the project as an 'exciting new exploration of the world of wizardry'.
Warner, which made the eight Harry Potter films - which remains the highest-grossing film series of all time - approached Rowling with the idea of expanding 'Fantastic Beasts'.
Rowling said: "I thought it was a fun idea, but the idea of seeing Newt Scamander, the supposed author of Fantastic Beasts, realised by another writer was difficult.
"Having lived for so long in my fictional universe, I feel very protective of it and I already knew a lot about Newt. As hard-core Harry Potter fans will know, I liked him so much that I even married his grandson, Rolf, to one of my favourite characters from the Harry Potter series, Luna Lovegood.
"I always said that I would only revisit the wizarding world if I had an idea that I was really excited about and this is it."
In Rowling's seven Harry Potter books Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a required textbook for first year students at Hogwarts. The book is a study of magical creatures (known as Magizoology).
In addition to the film series Warner is planning to develop Fantastic Beasts across its video game, consumer products and digital initiatives businesses.
Kerching.