Asked how he feels about the Harry Potter spinoff, Dan Radcliffe says J.K. Rowling’s decision is “fantastic” on multiple levels.

For one, Radcliffe says that fans who have missed the original book and film series will now be able to look forward to new material for the first time in years.

“I’m really excited,” he says. “There’s a load of people out there who are really sad that that world is not still something they can access all the time, that there’s nothing new coming out of it, and so I think it’s fantastic.”

Radcliffe adds that Rowling’s excitement about the project is also an intriguing aspect. “The thing I’m pleased most about is that it’s been Jo’s decision, because if it’d been anyone else’s, you’d immediately go, ‘Oh cash cow, what are you doing?’ But actually Jo, who doesn’t need the money, loves the fact that people love that world, and I think especially with the success she’s had writing the two other novels, one under an assumed name, it probably gave her the confidence to say, ‘Okay, I can go back to that world now.’ I’m very happy for her and all who end up working on it. It’s going to be fun.”

Speaking with Hypable in September, Fantastic Beasts producer David Heyman had similar thoughts about why Rowling decided to create the spinoff.

Warner Bros. has not set a release date for Fantastic Beasts, and at last check Rowling was still working on the script. She has complete control over her script; the studio cannot have someone else work on it unless she gives approval. At best, we won’t see the film in theaters until 2016.

Radcliffe made the comments during an interview with Empire Online’s podcast. The comments were transcribed by MuggleNet.