🎬 Overview
The Fantastic Beasts film series is a prequel franchise set in the wizarding world 70 years before Harry Potter, following magizoologist Newt Scamander and exploring the rise of dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald. Written by J.K. Rowling herself as original screenplays (not adapted from books), the series was planned for five films, with three released as of 2022, featuring new characters while connecting to the original Harry Potter story.
🎥 Film One: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)
The beginning:
- Released November 2016
- Set in 1926 New York City
- Newt Scamander arrives with magical case
- Creatures escape into city
- Teams with No-Maj Jacob Kowalski
- Tina and Queenie Goldstein sisters
- Reveals Credence Barebone as Obscurial
- Grindelwald impersonating Percival Graves
- $814 million worldwide
- Critical and commercial success
🎥 Film Two: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)
Darker turn:
- Released November 2018
- Set primarily in Paris, 1927
- Grindelwald escapes custody
- Gathering followers
- Credence alive, seeking identity
- Leta Lestrange backstory
- Young Dumbledore (Jude Law)
- Reveals blood pact prevents Dumbledore from fighting Grindelwald
- Shocking twist: Credence revealed as Aurelius Dumbledore
- $654 million (lower than first)
- Mixed critical reception
🎥 Film Three: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022)
Latest installment:
- Released April 2022
- Set in 1930s
- Bhutan, Berlin, China locations
- Dumbledore assembles team to stop Grindelwald
- Wizarding world election subplot
- Credence's true identity revealed
- Blood pact destroyed
- Dumbledore vs Grindelwald duel
- Mads Mikkelsen replaced Johnny Depp as Grindelwald
- $407 million (significant drop)
- Better critical response than second film
👥 Main Characters
Newt Scamander
Protagonist (Eddie Redmayne):
- Magizoologist
- Expelled from Hogwarts
- Magical creatures expert
- Awkward with people
- Brave and compassionate
- Author of famous textbook
- War hero (eventually)
Albus Dumbledore
Young professor (Jude Law):
- Defense Against Dark Arts teacher
- Former lover of Grindelwald
- Cannot fight him directly (blood pact)
- Uses Newt as proxy
- Brilliant strategist
- Tormented by past
Gellert Grindelwald
Main antagonist:
- Played by Johnny Depp (films 1-2)
- Mads Mikkelsen (film 3)
- Dark wizard seeking power
- "For the Greater Good"
- Wants wizards to rule Muggles
- Charismatic and dangerous
- Dumbledore's former love
Credence Barebone/Aurelius Dumbledore
Tragic figure (Ezra Miller):
- Obscurial with immense power
- Searching for identity
- Manipulated by Grindelwald
- Claimed to be Dumbledore's brother
- Actually nephew (Aberforth's son)
- Complex backstory
Jacob Kowalski
No-Maj friend (Dan Fogler):
- Muggle/No-Maj
- Befriends Newt
- Comic relief
- Romance with Queenie
- Audience surrogate
- Lovable character
Tina and Queenie Goldstein
Sisters:
- Tina: Auror, Newt's love interest
- Queenie: Legilimens, Jacob's love
- Queenie joins Grindelwald (controversial)
- Later redeemed
🔗 Connections to Harry Potter
Links to original series:
- Young Dumbledore and McGonagall
- Lestrange family
- Nicolas Flamel appears
- Nagini as human (cursed)
- Aberforth Dumbledore
- Hogwarts featured
- Room of Requirement
- Ministry of Magic
- Foreshadows original story events
📝 J.K. Rowling as Screenwriter
Direct involvement:
- Wrote all screenplays herself
- Not adaptations but original stories
- First time writing for screen
- Expanding wizarding world
- Complete creative control
- Both blessing and curse
- Some felt overwritten
🎨 Production
Making the films:
- David Yates directed all three
- Also directed last 4 HP films
- David Heyman producing
- Warner Bros. Pictures
- Massive budgets
- $150-200 million each
- Period piece costumes
- 1920s-30s setting
- Extensive visual effects
📊 Box Office Performance
Financial trajectory:
- Film 1: $814 million
- Film 2: $654 million (drop)
- Film 3: $407 million (significant drop)
- Declining audience interest
- Pandemic impact on third film
- Still profitable but concerning trend
🎭 Controversies
Behind the scenes issues:
- Johnny Depp's personal legal issues
- Replaced after two films
- Ezra Miller's legal troubles
- J.K. Rowling's controversial statements
- Affected marketing and reception
- Nagini casting debate
- McGonagall timeline inconsistency
🔮 Future of Series
Plans and uncertainty:
- Originally planned as five films
- Films 4 and 5 uncertain
- No official announcements
- Declining box office
- May be put on hold
- Or significantly reworked
- Fans await news
🌟 Significance
Fantastic Beasts represents:
- Expansion of wizarding world
- Prequels to beloved series
- Rowling writing directly for screen
- Exploring Dumbledore's past
- Rise of Grindelwald story
- New characters and creatures
- Mixed success continuing Potter legacy
- Challenges of expanding universe