Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them: The Crimes of Grindelwald hits theaters this November, and with it the screenplay will also be published. The cover for the Fantastic Beasts 2 screenplay book has been revealed, and if you take a closer look at it, you'll likely spot some clues about the story for the second film in the Fantastic Beasts franchise.
The image was posted over at the official Harry Potter fan-site, Pottermore, which credits graphic design team MimaLima for the artwork. As you can see, there's a skull up at the top and below the title text, and you'll surely notice the Eiffel Tower, likely a nod to the Parisian setting of Fantastic Beasts sequel. There are also two animals that appear to be black cats facing one another with the Deathly Hallows symbol between the two of them.
But if you look even closer at the book's cover, you might see some other things, like the woman's face (with a feathery looking headdress) next to two creatures familiar to those who've seen the first Fantastic Beasts movie, a niffler and a bowtruckle.
And above the words "The Original Screenplay" are three objects. The one to the left seems like some kind of pendant or ornament hanging from a chain. In the center (above "The") is a stone in a case. I'm going to guess that's the philosopher/sorcerer's stone, which would tie into the last time, what appears to be a padlock with the initials "NF" on it. Could that be Nicolas Flamel, the famous alchemist? We know Flamel is expected to appear in the film, played by Brontis Jodorowsky, so that seems like a fair guess to make.
There are also what appear to be two birds set around the Eiffel Tower. Are those phoenixes and will Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes, be making an appearance in The Crimes of Grindelwald? Here's hoping!
Last among the things we spotted on this cover is this little guy (above), seen in both bottom corners of the book. I'm wondering if he's a grindylow. The lines and bubbles around him have a sort of aquatic vibe to them, which makes me think that little guy with the horns is some kind of water creature. To theorize even further, grindylows were known to hang out in the Great Lake on the Hogwarts grounds, and since we know Hogwarts will be featured in Fantastic Beasts 2, perhaps that's a clue that the Lake -- well known for being inhabited by a number of magical beasts, including a giant squid -- could be featured in this movie. It seems like a prime location for Newt Scamander to visit. Considering he attended Hogwarts, we have to imagine the magizoologist knows a thing or two about what's going on down there, but we'll have to wait and see if it comes into play when Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them 2 hits theaters November 16, 2018.
The Fantastic Beasts 2 screenplay book is set to drop in the U.S. and U.K. the same day the movie arrives.
