Newt only meant to stay in New York for a couple of hours ?

"Newt only meant to stay in New York for a couple of hours . . ."
This is a snippet of what we know from JK Rowling's screenplay for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. So with that, analysis after the break as we attempt to pin down the setting, the plot, and possibly the plot of the trilogy of films.


The first thing we need to go over is setting, as it appears that all of the film will take place in New York. Though I'm not a native, I can think, cinematically that being the northeast, it could have forests for beasts to live in, though this would be less likely than what I think the real draw is. 1920's New York City. Imagine, a Diagon Alley type area of New York City, hidden in alleyways and subway stations working as platform 9 3/4 entryways. These wizards and witches are probably far more hidden in their areas, with a mix of art deco and the bizarre shanty-type structures from London's Diagon Alley.  So why this...? The sewers are TEEMING with possibilities, namely from the rumor or alligators in the sewers.

SO what about the plot? The way I see it, Newt Scamander is a sort of Indiana Jones figure, where "that creature deserves to live/be protected" becomes an ongoing theme. Thus, the most likely scenario is this: Newt is called to NYC to meet with an individual that may have a lead on a new creature for his book, and is spending time in a bar, waiting for an individual. That individual tells Newt that there are strange attacks. Newt dismisses it till he sees something the individual pulls out, a scale. This is what makes Newt stay in NYC, to find this creature within the sewers (likely a dragon/dragon like creature). He will then face a hunter aiming to kill the creature, rather than capture and transport it.
The second scenario is an adventure through the wooded areas of New York to find an unidentified creature. The third is more dealing with black markets but again, to save a creature. There's a bit of a running theme here being "Newt meets someone, recruited to save creature that may/may not exist. Creature does exist, he goes to save it" this keeps him in NY longer than he thought he'd be.

So, what about the bigger plot of the films? Well we have a few now: Newt writing fantastic beasts, where we see him discovering creatures that are... a bit more rare, like acromantula or dangerous/valuable, like dragons. So I will propose that in addition to his writings, we will see a common antagonist, like Moriarty in action, either there to poach, hunt, or otherwise destroy magical wildlife. I will assume that said antagonist will either be an American (think entrepreneurial type wizard, fitting in with 1920s New York), or British (I, for one would hope that it would be a gryffindor). Other than that, I'd expect these films to more or less play out like an Indiana Jones film.