Fantastic Beasts and the all-too-real pressure of following Harry Potter

Eddie Redmayne may have an Oscar at home, but it isthe British actor's wand that fans really want to see now.

As the star ofJ.K. Rowling's new Harry Potter spinoff,Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the 34-year-old self-proclaimed Harry Potter fan said he had mixed feelings when asked to join the hugely popular magical franchise.

"It was sort of this mixture of extraordinary wish fulfilment mixed with like if you'rea fan of something you don't want to be the one who screws it up," Redmayne saidat the launch of the film's fan experience in Toronto Tuesday.

"So it was sort ofa double-edged sword."

Same universe, different era

Based on Rowling's2001 book of the same name,Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Themis rooted in the same mystical universe as the wildly successfulHarry Potterfranchise, but set 70 years earlier in swinging Prohibition-era New York.

In it, Redmaynestars as Newt Scamander a bumbling British wizard who specializes in magical creatures. Harry Potter fans might recognizehim as the author of the textbook Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, used to instruct young wizards at Hogwarts.

"He's not your average staple of a film of this scale," said Redmayne, who won an Academy Award for his portrayal of famed physicist Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything.

"He is awkward. But he's also passionate and he is awkward with people, but he's pretty extraordinary when he iswith his creatures. I love that kind of dichotomy."

Despite being a wizard, Newt isnot exempt from mundane hassles, and the conflict in the film centres on the chaos that ensues when Scamander's suitcase of magical creatures is misplaced and some of the beasts are mistakenly released into the No-Maj (the American term for "muggle") world.

After directingthe final four instalments of theHarry Potter series, DavidYatesreturns to helm this film, which also starsKatherineWaterstonas Scamander's love interestTinaGoldstein, Colin Farrell,Jon Voight and a cameo from Johnny Depp.

Hungry fans, tall order

Hundreds of Potterfans waited in the rainfor hours at Toronto's fan event Tuesday night just to see a glimpse of the cast, as drizzle soaked their witches' hats and Gryffindor scarves.

But it's this show ofdedication fromRowling'sfans that has helped conjure up $10 billion US for her fantasy franchise at the global box office, and made the British authorone of the world's richest authors.

And Warner Bros. is clearly expecting to capitalize on the brand's cachet. Just last month, Rowling who makes her screenwriting debut withFantastic Beastssurprised fans last monthwhen she announced that the spinoff willstretch to five films.

Despite the optimism, box-office analysts are forecasting anopening take that's lower than the six otherHarry Potterfilms that opened on a Friday.

"If it does open with $75 million US in North America, it's going to have to be extra leggy to approximate its cinematic predecessors,"Forbesfilm analystScottMendelsonwrote last month.

Building buzz

To generate excitement, Warner Bros. is offering a free fan experience for wannabe wizards and witches in Toronto on Wednesday.

Starting at 9 a.m. ET in Yonge-DundasSquare, fans will be able to get up close with Fantastic Beasts costumes and props, and sample the film's action through virtual reality demonstrations and games.Similar events have been held at various cities around the world.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Themhits theatres in3D and IMAX on Nov. 18.

The secondFantastic Beastsis already in pre-productionand due in theatres in November2018.