Vulture caught up with David Heyman at the Gravity premiere in New York City this week and offered him ideas for J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter spinoff Fantastic Beasts that he supported.

Heyman, as you may remember, confirmed earlier this week that he will return as a producer for the spinoff series that Rowling and Warner Bros. announced in mid-September.

On the subject of a return to Hogwarts, which in our opinion would help past Harry Potter audiences connect with the new series of films, Vulture suggested that lead Fantastic Beasts character Newt Scamander could head to the school while it’s under the headmaster-ship of Phineas Black. “When we suggested that Black could provide conflict, since he wouldn’t support Newt’s research or goals of understanding other species,” Vulture writes, “Heyman lit up. ‘I love this! I’m going to remember that.'”

Vulture also suggested to Heyman that Dumbledore could return for a cameo. The producer agreed, and went so far as to suggest that the Harry Potter Dumbledore actor could return. “It could still be Michael Gambon [even if Dumbledore was younger],” Heyman said. “But I like that. A little wink is a good idea.”

The conversation then turned to who could be cast as Newt, who will be in his 20s when Rowling’s new story takes place during the 1920s in New York City. We’ll quote Vulture’s notes here because they made suggestions to Heyman that he then responded to:

– Dev Patel (“He’s a really good actor,” Heyman agreed.)
– Thomas Brodie-Sangster, despite the fact that he’s playing another character named Newt in The Maze Runner (“I know him, he’s excellent.”)
– Jack Gleeson, who’s said he wants to go into academia after his reign as King Joffrey on Game of Thrones ends, but perhaps could be convinced to play an academic instead (“How old is he?” Heyman asked. “Newt is a tiny bit older.”)
– Bret McKenzie, who is much older, but can play younger (“He’s really good.”)
– And if they wanted to promote from within, Harry Melling, who originally played Dudley Dursley but has thinned out considerably as he’s grown up, which is why he was wearing a fat suit in Deathly Hallows (“He’s a really good actor, and I love his work, but that’s a little more difficult because he’s been Dudley.”)

All in all, we appreciate how Heyman was so open to discussing various possibilities even though the plot of the film is still a tight secret.

Rowling is reportedly still working on the script, and we don’t expect the film to open in theaters until 2016 or 2017.

Thanks, Vulture and Tom for the tip.