Cohen joins Harry Potter spin-off

Former BBC director of television Danny Cohen will have a role on the production of the latest instalment in JK Rowling’s Harry Potter franchise.

Danny Cohen

Warner Bros announced the sequel to forthcoming spin-off feature film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them yesterday, ahead of the first film’s release in cinemas in November.

The movie is inspired by Rowling’s book of the same name and stars Eddie Redmayne as an eccentric, introverted wizard and employee of the British Ministry of Magic.

Cohen will be an executive producer on the sequel, which is due out in 2018 and will be directed by David Yates, who oversaw Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them after directing the final four Harry Potter films.

Thrilled to be working as Exec Producer with @jk_rowling and the amazing team on the next Fantastic Beasts movie!https://t.co/A8MSsGvL8E

— Danny Cohen (@DannyCohen) August 3, 2016

Cohen now runs the fledgling entertainment arm of billionaire businessman Len Blavatnik’s US-based investment outfit Access Industries, having left the BBC after eight years in 2015.

The exec oversaw a raft of series for the BBC including Happy Valley, Poldark and Last Tango in Halifax, while Wolf Hall, Top of the Lake and Peaky Blinders also aired under his watch.