Kate Upton, Saoirse Ronan, Dakota Fanning in Running for HARRY POTTER Spinoff Female Leads

After locking down Eddie Redmayne as its lead, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them had several members of Newt Scamander's magical team. According to TheWrap, director David Yates is narrowing down the search for two of those roles in the Harry Potter prequel/spinoff.

Saoirse Ronan, Dakota Fanning, Lili Simmons and Alison Sudol are up for the role of Tina, with Kate Upton, Katherine Waterston and Elizabeth Debicki in the running to play Tina's older sister, Queenie. TheWrap reports that several of these actresses have test deals in place and are expected to test with Redmayne.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will turn a fictional textbook in the Harry Potter universe into a cinematic trilogy. Harry Potter author JK Rowling is making her screenwriter debut for the movie. The first installment will hit theaters on Nov. 18, 2016.

Fanning is probably the biggest name in this mix. She's been a name on the acting scene since 2001's I Am Sam and later starred in movie's like Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds and the Twilight Saga. It's interesting that Ronan's name is in this casting rumor too. The actress allegedly tested for Star Wars: The Force Awakens and was pursued for Avengers: Age of Ultron. Her biggest role was The Host, a Twilight knockoff that flopped. While known primarily as a swimsuit model and dougie instructor, Upton has appeared in movies like The Three Stooges and The Other Woman.

The Fantastic Beasts trilogy is repeatedly referenced as not as prequel or spinoff to the original eight Harry Potter movies, but I have the feeling Warner Bros. is peddling that line to prevent fans from getting their hopes up that Daniel Radcliffe or Emma Watson will pop up in one of the new movies. Fantastic Beasts takes place decades before the events in the Harry Potter movies, so unless Rowling mixes in some time travel, Harry and his gang won't even be alive yet.