When Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them debuted in theaters back in 2016, it introduced audiences to an entirely new corner of the wizard world. That will continue later this year with the release of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, and with that continuation will come a very different look at this magical landscape. In fact, as Eddie Redmayne explained in a recent interview regarding the upcoming sequel, he's most excited about the deep and dark immersion into the wizarding world. Redmayne said:
The most riveting aspect is the tonal change. It's darker and more rigorous and weaving in the Potter lore we're much more familiar with. So, these characters you met in the first film are now in the wizarding world you understand more thoroughly. When I read [the script] it had these cryptic elements to it and it played like a thriller that made it a page-turner.
So, if Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them opened the door to this new avenue of the wizard world, then Eddie Redmayne's remarks during his recent interview with EW make it sound like the sequel will go all in on embracing darker tones and immersing Newt Scamander and his friends in the landscape constructed by J.K. Rowling. The original movie offered up a primer to set up certain characters and establish a series of ground rules, and now the sequel has far more room to tell a more complex story that goes to far darker places and has the tone of a thriller.
This makes quite a bit of sense in the context of The Crimes of Grindelwald's storyline, as the sequel will take an even closer look at the criminal element of this fictional landscape. Now that the titular villain has been properly introduced, and now that Johnny Depp is taking a much more prominent role in the Fantastic Beasts franchise as its central antagonist, there's room to explore the details of the wizarding world and delve into significantly grayer moral areas.
With all of that said, it doesn't sound like everything will be doom and gloom. The early looks at Jude Law as young Dumbledore have shown a fascinating new look at the character that makes him seem incredibly charming and never without a sense of charisma. Moreover, the return of Dan Fogler as Jacob Kowalski seemingly promises more banter and offbeat interactions with our hero. It just so happens that the story around them will be considerably darker in nature.
Of course, we will all get a chance to see what that darker tonal change looks like later this year when Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald debuts in theaters on November 16, 2018. Until that highly-anticipated release date rolls around, you can head over to our movie premiere guide to see what other films are set to debut on the big screen this year as well!
