JK Rowling has set the record straight, explaining that the cryptic tweets she sent out earlier this week did not mean the return of Harry Potter. On Monday the 49-year-old author had sent Twitter fans into a frenzy when she posted the riddle, "Cry, foe! Run amok! Fa awry! My wand won't tolerate this nonsense." She later followed it up with, "Something to ponder while I'm away X."
JK Rowling had fans thinking a Harry Potter return was on the horizon
The message led many to translate the anagram as "Harry returns" but JK, whose seventh and final Harry Potter novel was published in 2007, later explained the meaning. She gave fans a few helpful hints, revealing that the subject of the riddle was Newt Scamandar – the fictional author of one of Harry's textbooks used at Hogwarts school. The post was in fact a line from the synopsis of a film screenplay she is currently writing about Newt's story. When one fan guessed, "Newt Scamander only meant to stay in New York for a few hours...," the writer replied with, "YES!!!!!!!!!!!! People, we have a winner!"
JK published Harry's fictional textbook about magical creatures, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, in 2001 to raise money for charity. Last year it was confirmed that the book would be turned into a trilogy of movies, with the British star tasked to write the screenplay. The first film is due for release in 2016. "OK, the next riddle is... kidding. As I said (was it only 2 days ago?) I've got a novel to finish and a screenplay to tweak," JK confirmed on Tuesday. The British star later thanked fans for indulging in her game, as she posted, "Thank you, thank you, for being the kind of people who get excited about an anagram #myspiritualhome."
JK Rowling's seventh and final Harry Potter novel was released in 2007
The first movie about Newt is expected to be set in 1920s New York, where viewers will see the character commissioned to travel the world and compile a guide to magical beasts. JK has previously said that this new trilogy is "neither a prequel nor a sequel to the Harry Potter series, but an extension of the wizarding world."