Following a slew of tweets by J.K. Rowling which also included a couple of additional hints about the anagram, fans successfully figured out her puzzle.
Here’s the answer: “Newt Scamander only meant to stay in New York for a few hours.”
According to Rowling this morning, the sentence is the first line in a synopsis which discusses the overall Fantastic Beasts story.
Since the original announcement in September 2013 we’ve known that Fantastic Beasts would start in New York. Today’s little tidbit seems to indicate that Newt made a quick trip across the pond to examine a beast or two and will end up staying there much longer.
What is it that required Newt to stay in town? Were there more beasts to research than he could’ve ever imagined? Did a beast capture him? Did he find the woman of his dreams? Did he suffer worse-than-expected Manhattan traffic (Thanks, Micah)?
Whatever keeps him in New York, it sounds like the planned sequel and threequel may find him elsewhere:
Newt only meant to stay in New York for a few hours. Circumstances ensured that he remained… for the length of a movie, anyway. X
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) October 7, 2014
The puzzle sent the Harry Potter fandom into an excited frenzy. Rowling had only intended for the anagram to keep fans busy while she spent the next few days/weeks finishing up a couple of projects, but it turned into something that left her tweeting to numerous fans and offering a couple new gems:
.@Witcheeha No, Newt would never run away from anything. He's a Hufflepuff with guts.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) October 7, 2014
.@C_Murphy3695 Newt certainly wouldn't want to harm beasts. He's a magi zoologist, after all.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) October 7, 2014
.@_Pluviophile He didn't go there for fun and he didn't get lost, but nice guess…
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) October 7, 2014
She even said some guesses were awfully close to the Fantastic Beasts script:
Well, I'm limp, frankly – limp. A few suggestions were spookily close to the script!
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) October 7, 2014
Thank you, thank you, for being the kind of people who get excited about an anagram #myspiritualhome
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) October 7, 2014
And now we wait for the next riddle. Or the full synopsis.
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