''Fantastic Beasts'' is a

film series A film series or movie series (also referred to as a film franchise or movie franchise) is a collection of related films in succession that share the same fictional universe, or are marketed as a series. This article explains what film series are ...

directed by David Yates, and a spin-off

prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term " ...

to the ''Harry Potter'' novel and

. The series is distributed by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

and consists of three

fantasy film Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered a form of speculative fiction alongside science fiction f ...

s as of 2022, beginning with ''

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them ''Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'' (often referred to as simply ''Fantastic Beasts'') is a 2001 guide book written by British author J. K. Rowling (under the pen name of the fictitious author Newt Scamander) about the magical creat ...

'' (2016), and following with '' Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald'' (2018) and '' Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore'' (2022). Following the 2001–11 ''Harry Potter'' film series, ''Fantastic Beasts'' marks the second film series in the

Wizarding World The Wizarding World (previously known as J. K. Rowling's Wizarding World) is a fantasy media franchise and shared fictional universe centred on the ''Harry Potter'' novel series by J. K. Rowling. A series of films have been in production since ...

shared universe A shared universe or shared world is a fictional universe from a set of creative works where more than one writer (or other artist) independently contributes a work that can stand alone but fits into the joint development of the storyline, chara ...

media franchise A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or ...

. The series was mainly produced by

David Heyman David Jonathan Heyman (born 26 July 1961) is a British film producer and the founder of Heyday Films. Heyman secured the rights to the ''Harry Potter'' film series in 1999 and went on to produce all eight installments of the franchise. He also ...

, and stars

Eddie Redmayne Edward John David Redmayne (; born 6 January 1982) is an English actor. Known for his roles in biopics and blockbusters, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, a BAFTA Award, and two Olivier Awards. He ...

as the leading character:

Newt Scamander Newton Artemis Fido "Newt" Scamander is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the ''Fantastic Beasts'' film series. Initially, Newt Scamander was only mentioned in ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' as the author of the bo ...

, with

Jude Law David Jude Heyworth Law (born 29 December 1972) is an English actor. He received a British Academy Film Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, two Tony Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. In 2007, he received an Honorary Césa ...

portraying

Albus Dumbledore Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore is a fictional character in J. K. Rowling's ''Harry Potter'' series. For most of the series, he is the headmaster of the wizarding school Hogwarts. As part of his backstory, it is revealed that he is ...

and with

Colin Farrell Colin James Farrell (; born 31 May 1976) is an Irish actor. A leading man in projects across various genres in both blockbuster and independent films since the 2000s, he has received numerous accolades including a Golden Globe Award. ''The ...

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Award ...

and Mads Mikkelsen (replacing Depp in the third film) all portraying the third leading character: main

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the chief foe of the protagonist. Etymology The English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀνταγωνιστής – ''antagonistēs'', "opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, riv ...

Gellert Grindelwald.

Ezra Miller Ezra Matthew Miller (born September 30, 1992) is an American actor. Their feature film debut was in '' Afterschool'' (2008), which they followed by starring in the drama '' We Need to Talk About Kevin'' (2011) and '' The Perks of Being a Wallf ...

Katherine Waterston Katherine Boyer Waterston (born March 3, 1980) is a British-American actress. She made her feature film debut in '' Michael Clayton'' (2007). She had supporting roles in films including '' Robot & Frank,'' ''Being Flynn'' (both 2012) and '' The ...

Alison Sudol Alison Sudol (born December 23, 1984) is an American actress, singer, songwriter and music video director. She is known as the singer A Fine Frenzy, and for her role as Queenie Goldstein in ''Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'' (2016), as ...

Dan Fogler Daniel Kevin Fogler (born October 20, 1976) is an American actor, comedian and writer. He has appeared in films including '' Balls of Fury'', '' Good Luck Chuck'', ''Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'', '' Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Gr ...

Victoria Yeates Victoria Natalie Yeates (born 19 April 1983) is an English actress. She is best known for her role as Sister Winifred in the period drama series ''Call the Midwife''. She also appeared in the film '' Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald' ...

, Jessica Williams,

Callum Turner Callum Robilliard Turner (born 15 February 1990) is a British actor and model. He is known for his roles as Theseus Scamander in '' Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald'' and '' Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore'', Bill Rohan in ...

, and

Richard Coyle Richard Coyle is an English actor. He portrayed lead role of Father Faustus Blackwood in Netflix series '' Chilling Adventures of Sabrina'', and Jeff Murdock in the sitcom ''Coupling''. Early and personal life Coyle was born in Sheffield, En ...

also star. Rowling wrote the screenplays for each film, with Steve Kloves returning from the ''Harry Potter'' film series to co-write the third film: ''The Secrets of Dumbledore''. Production has taken place over six years, with the main

story arc A story arc (also narrative arc) is the chronological construction of plot in a novel or story. It can also mean an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, board games, vide ...

following Dumbledore and his agents' quest to overcome Grindelwald, his lost love, as the First Wizarding War and

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

approach. ''

'' was released worldwide on 18 November 2016, followed by '' The Crimes of Grindelwald'' on 16 November 2018, and '' The Secrets of Dumbledore'' on 15 April 2022. The series has been commercially successful, having collectively grossed $1.8 billion across three films so far. However, the series has received positive to mixed critical reception, with many critics deeming it inferior to the ''Harry Potter'' films.

Origins

In 2010, a film adaptation of the

Derek Landy Derek Landy (born 23 October 1974) is an Irish author and screenwriter, best known for the ''Skulduggery Pleasant'' book series. Career Landy has written two screenplays that have been made into films, the IFTA award-winning '' Dead Bodies'' a ...

novel series ''

Skulduggery Pleasant ''Skulduggery Pleasant'' is a series of dark fantasy novels written by Irish author Derek Landy. The books revolve around the adventures of fledgling detective Valkyrie Cain, her mentor Skulduggery Pleasant, along with other friends and allie ...

'' starring

as the title character was in development at

; immensely disliking the script, series author

bought back the rights by December. In April 2021, elaborating on the original script's content while promoting '' Until the End'', Landy said that it had contained numerous references to the events of ''

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

'' in the context of it being set in the same

fictional universe A fictional universe, or fictional world, is a self-consistent setting with events, and often other elements, that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed, or fictional realm (or world). Fictional universes may ...

, featuring the characters having wands instead of wield magic out-of-hand as in his books. On 12 September 2013, two years following the conclusion of the ''Harry Potter'' film series with ''

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2'' is a 2011 fantasy film directed by David Yates from a screenplay by Steve Kloves. The film is the second of two cinematic parts based on the 2007 novel '' Harry Potter and the Deathly Hal ...

'',

announced a new attempt as expanding the

fictional universe of Harry Potter The fictional universe of British author J. K. Rowling's ''Harry Potter'' series of fantasy novels comprises two distinct societies: the Wizarding World and the Muggle world. In the novels, the Muggle world is the world inhabited by the non-ma ...

into a "

", with

J. K. Rowling Joanne Rowling ( "rolling"; born 31 July 1965), also known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author and Philanthropy, philanthropist. She wrote ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume children's fantasy series published from 1997 to ...

developing a script for a

film, titled after a "

textbook A textbook is a book containing a comprehensive compilation of content in a branch of study with the intention of explaining it. Textbooks are produced to meet the needs of educators, usually at educational institutions. Schoolbooks are textboo ...

" Rowling had written in 2001 to be sold to raise money for the British charity ''

Comic Relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic episo ...

'', based on the in-universe textbook of the same name from her ''Harry Potter'' novel series. Set seventy years before the adventures of

and following the adventures of its fictional author

, the film would mark both Rowling's screenwriting debut and the first intended installment in a new series, tentatively entitled ''Fantastic Beasts''. According to Rowling, after Warner Bros. suggested an adaptation of either ''Fantastic Beasts'' or ''

Quidditch Through the Ages ''Quidditch Through the Ages'' is a 2001 book written by British author J. K. Rowling using the pseudonym of Kennilworthy Whisp about Quidditch in the ''Harry Potter'' universe. It purports to be the Hogwarts library's copy of the non-fiction ...

'', she wrote a rough draft of the script in twelve days. She said, "It wasn't a great draft but it did show the shape of how it might look. So that is how it all started." In March 2014, it was announced that a trilogy was scheduled with the first instalment set in New York, and seeing the return of producer

, as well as writer Steve Kloves, both veterans of the ''Potter'' film series.

Production

In June 2015,

was cast in the lead role of

, the Wizarding World's preeminent magi

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

. Other cast members include:

Tina Goldstein This is a list of characters from the ''Fantastic Beasts'' films. Introduced in ''Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'' Newt Scamander Newt Scamander is an introverted British wizard and magizoologist, as well as a noteworthy graduat ...

as Queenie Goldstein,

as Jacob Kowalski,

as Credence Barebone,

Samantha Morton Samantha Jane Morton (born 13 May 1977) is an English actress and director. Known for her work in independent cinema, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as nominations for two ...

as Mary Lou,

Jenn Murray Jenn Elizabeth Murray (born 1 April 1986) is a Northern Irish actress. In 2009, she received an IFTA Award nomination for her role in the film '' Dorothy Mills'' (2008). Her other notable roles were in ''Brooklyn'' (2015), ''Fantastic Beasts and ...

as Chastity Barebone, Faith Wood-Blagrove as Modesty Barebone, and

as Percival Graves / Gellert Grindelwald. Principal photography began on 17 August 2015, at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden. After two months, the production moved to St George's Hall in Liverpool, which was transformed into 1920s New York City. ''

'' was released worldwide on 18 November 2016. The second film was announced in March 2014. In October 2016, it was revealed that Yates and Rowling would return as director, and screenwriter and co-producer, and Redmayne would be returning to play the lead role of Newt Scamander in all the series' films. In November 2016, it was confirmed that

will have a starring role in the sequel, reprising his

cameo role A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

as Gellert Grindelwald from the first instalment, replacing Farrell. Later that same month it was also announced that

would be appearing in future instalments, albeit with a younger actor for the prequel film series, intended to eventually supplant Redmayne's Scamander as

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

of the series. In April 2017, it was confirmed that

had been cast as Dumbledore. with the film being short and set in New York City, Britain, and Paris. Principal photography began on 3 July 2017, at

Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden is an studio complex in Leavesden in Watford, Hertfordshire, in South East England. Formerly known as Leavesden Film Studios and still colloquially known as Leavesden Studios or simply Leavesden, it is a film ...

, and wrapped on 20 December 2017, with '' Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald'' releasing on 16 November 2018. Originally scheduled to begin filming in July 2019, and released in November 2020, production of the third film was pushed back to late 2019 to allow more time polishing the script and re-plan the future of the ''Fantastic Beasts'' series. In 2018 on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

, Rowling promised that the third film would give answers to the questions left unsolved in the first two. In October 2019, Dan Fogler claimed that principal photography on the third film would begin in February 2020. In November 2019, it was announced that the script had been written by both Rowling and Steve Kloves, the latter of whom returned after being absent as a writer on the first two. On 16 March 2020, the very day that principal photography would begin, the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

prompted Warner Bros. to postpone production of its third ''Fantastic Beasts'' film. This made the film be postponed again, from a 12 November 2021 to a 15 July 2022 release. On 20 August 2020, filming was confirmed to start in September. On 20 September 2020, Eddie Redmayne confirmed that filming was two weeks underway with safety precautions in place to keep the cast and crew safe from COVID-19. On 25 November 2020, Warner Bros. announced that Mads Mikkelsen would replace Depp in the role of Grindelwald. On 3 February 2021, filming in the UK was shut down after a production member tested positive for COVID-19. Composer

James Newton Howard James Newton Howard (born June 9, 1951) is an American film composer, music producer and keyboardist. He has scored over 100 films and is the recipient of a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, and nine nominations for Academy Awards. His film scores ...

confirmed later that month that production had wrapped filming. In September 2021, the film's release was pushed forward three months to 15 April 2022, alongside the announcement of the full title: '' Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore''. It premiered one week early in a few European and Asian countries.

Films

''Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'' (2016)

In 1926,

arrives in New York City with his magically expanded briefcase which houses a number of dangerous creatures and their habitats. When some creatures escape from his briefcase, Newt must battle to correct the mistake, and the horrors of the resultant increase in violence, fear, and tension felt between magical and non-magical people ( No-Maj).

''Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald'' (2018)

A few months have passed since the events of ''Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them''. Gellert Grindelwald has escaped imprisonment and has begun gathering followers to his causeelevating wizards above all non-magical beings. Dumbledore must seek help from his former student Newt to put a stop to Grindelwald.

''Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore'' (2022)

Several years after the events of ''The Crimes of Grindelwald'', the story begins in the UK, the US and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and proceeds to take place partly in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and partly in

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

and leads up to the Wizarding World's involvement in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, as Newt Scamander and company returning for another adventurous journey through the wizarding world, attempting to defeat the maniacal Gellert Grindelwald despite

being unable to fight against him.

Future

In October 2016, Rowling announced that the ''Fantastic Beasts'' film series would be composed of five films, later confirming that the story of the series would consist of a sequence of events that occurred between the years of 1926 and 1945. In February 2022, producer David Heyman revealed that work on the script for ''Fantastic Beasts 4'' had not begun yet. In April 2022, ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' reported that Warner Bros. greenlighting the final two installments would be dependent on the critical and commercial performance of ''The Secrets of Dumbledore''. In November 2022, Variety reported that

Warner Bros. Discovery Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at 230 Park Avenue South in New York City. It was formed after the spin-off of WarnerMedia by AT&T, and its merger with Di ...

had no Wizarding World films in active development and was not in "active discussions" with Rowling regarding the future of the franchise, casting the future of the ''Fantastic Beasts'' films into further uncertainty.

Television

In January 2021, it was reported that

were reviewing pitches for a

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

, set in the

, to debut on

HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...

. In May 2022, the reports circulated about the announced meeting between

CEO

David Zaslav David Zaslav (born January 15, 1960) is an American media executive who currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Warner Bros. Discovery. Zaslav spearheaded the transaction between AT&T and Discovery to combine with Warner ...

and J.K. Rowling in their discussion for future HBO Max projects set within the Wizarding World.

''Fantastic Beasts: A Natural History''

''Fantastic Beasts: A Natural History'' is a documentary film that was broadcast on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

and

on 27 February 2022. Presented by

Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...

, the documentary tells magical stories about mythical creatures and beasts from

's works and their connection to real life animals.

Short film

''Fantastic Beasts of the TSA'' aired on ''

The Late Late Show with James Corden ''The Late Late Show with James Corden'' (also known as ''Late Late'') is an American late-night talk show on CBS. It is the fourth and current iteration of '' The Late Late Show''. Airing in the U.S. from Monday to Friday nights at 12:37:28a ...

'', on November 17, 2016. Featuring

reprise his ''Fantastic Beasts'' role as

, the film follows Scamander in modern times as he seeks to get his suitcase through airport security, past an overzealous Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agent (played by the show's host, James Corden).

Video games

Music

Reception

Box office performance

'' was the eighth highest-grossing film of 2016, and '' The Crimes of Grindelwald'' was the tenth highest-grossing film of 2018.

Critical and public response

The series has received mixed critical reception being deemed critically inferior to the more positively reviewed Harry Potter films.

Accolades

Academy Awards

In 2017, ''Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'' won the

Academy Award for Best Costume Design The Academy Award for Best Costume Design is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for achievement in film costume design. The award was first given in 1949, for films made in 194 ...

, becoming the first film in the overall

franchise to win an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

British Academy Film Awards

Theme park attraction

''Fantastic Beasts: The Wonder of Nature'' was open from 9–15 December 2020 and from 17 May 2021 to 3 January 2022 at the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...

. It consisted of creatures, specimens and artefacts from the museum's scientific collection displayed side by side with elements from the Wizarding World as well as digital installations. This exhibit featured 100 objects, including props from the Fantastic Beasts and Harry Potter films. There is a similar exhibition set to open at the

Royal Ontario Museum The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a museum of art, world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest museums in North America and the largest in Canada. It attracts more than one million visitors every year ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada on 11 June 2022 through 2 January 2023.

References

External links

*
Growing Up with Harry Potter
– photo essay by ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Fantastic Beasts Warner Bros. Pictures franchises American film series BAFTA Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award British film series Films about magic Films about witchcraft Film series based on fantasy novels Film series introduced in 2016 Works based on Harry Potter