There are few franchises quite as massive as Harry Potter. Aside from the original novels and corresponding film franchise, J.K. Rowling has continued to expand the Wizarding World through the website Pottermore, the Cursed Child stage plays, and even theme parks. But perhaps the most exciting addition to Harry's magical world is the Fantastic Beasts franchise, which will span a whopping five movies.
While the first Fantastic Beasts movie made an impressive 814 million in theaters, its sequel didn't fare quite as well. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald still made money at the box office, but it wasn't quite as successful as its predecessor, with $653.4 million and a mixed critical reception. But it looks like J.K. Rowling is actively working to make the upcoming threequel a better quality film, as Warner Bros. exec Kevin Tsujihara recently revealed, saying:
The second film didn’t perform as well as the first, but I think we know what we need to do to get the third film hopefully even better than the first one. And J.K. Rowling is really working hard now on that third script, and we’re going to get it right. She has an incredible vision of where she wants to go with this that is incredibly exciting. The hardest part of the franchise is you have such a big core fan base. That fan base really knows the lore and they want to go deep into these characters. But what you don’t want to do is intimidate people. You want to be able to create a stand-alone movie that’s enjoyable for someone who isn’t steeped in the lore.
J.K. Rowling has always had a strong work ethic, just look at all the Harry Potter material that is currently dominating pop culture. But she seems to be putting special care into the mysterious story of Fantastic Beasts 3, ensuring the next two movies get produced by the studio.
Kevin Tsujihara's comments to the LA Times will no doubt be exciting for the countless Potterheads out there. J.K. Rowling is the architect of the entire Wizarding World, although she's got special interest in the Fantastic Beasts franchise. She's writing the script herself, and fleshing out the history of the franchise in the process. Crimes of Grindelwald contained a ton of connections to the Harry Potter franchise, so smart money says the upcoming threequel will do the same, and in a big way.
Narratively, there's a ton of material for J.K. Rowling to mine from for Fantastic Beasts 3. Crimes of Grindelwald's twist ending revealed that Ezra Miller's Credence is actually Dumbledore's brother. And with the villain's forces growing (including Queenie), the upcoming Wizard war has very high stakes.
More answers will come once Fantastic Beasts 3 arrives in theaters sometime in 2021. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
