Fantastic Beasts

Lore & Background

The series originated on 12 September 2013, when Warner Bros. announced an expansion of the Harry Potter universe into a 'Wizarding World', with J. K. Rowling developing a script for a prequel film based on her 2001 textbook Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Rowling wrote a rough draft in twelve days, and in October 2014 a trilogy was scheduled, with the first film set in New York. Eddie Redmayne was cast as protagonist Newt Scamander in June 2015, and principal photography began in August 2015 at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden.

The second film was announced in March 2014, with Yates and Rowling returning. Johnny Depp reprised his cameo as Gellert Grindelwald, replacing Colin Farrell, and Jude Law was cast as Albus Dumbledore. Principal photography ran from July to December 2017. The third film faced delays due to script revisions and the COVID-19 pandemic; filming began in September 2020 with Johnny Depp, who shot one scene before being asked to resign in November 2020 after negative publicity from a libel case. Mads Mikkelsen replaced him for reshoots, and principal photography wrapped in early 2021.

Reader's Guide

The Fantastic Beasts series is significant as the second film series in the Wizarding World franchise, expanding the universe established by the Harry Potter books and films. It follows the quest of Albus Dumbledore and his agents, principally magizoologist Newt Scamander, to overcome Gellert Grindelwald as the First Wizarding War and Second World War approach. The series was commercially successful, grossing over US$1.8 billion across three films, three times more than budgeted costs. The first film received positive reviews, while the later two received mixed reviews, with some critics deeming the series overall inferior to the Harry Potter films. Originally planned as five films covering 1926 to 1945, the series was left in limbo after the third film; in October 2023, director David Yates stated the series had been 'parked'. The series introduced new characters and settings, including 1920s New York, Paris, Berlin, and Bhutan, and featured a rotating cast for the antagonist Grindelwald.

Did You Know?

• J. K. Rowling wrote the original screenplay for each film, with Steve Kloves rewriting parts of the third.
• The series was originally planned as five films covering the years 1926 to 1945.
• Johnny Depp was replaced by Mads Mikkelsen as Gellert Grindelwald after shooting one scene for the third film.
• The third film's release was pushed from November 2021 to April 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Origins & Conception

Two years after the final Harry Potter film concluded in 2011, Warner Bros. Pictures made a bold announcement on 12 September 2013: they would expand the franchise into a broader 'Wizarding World' shared universe. At the center of this plan was J. K. Rowling, who would pen a prequel screenplay set roughly seventy years before Harry Potter's story. The project drew its name from a 2001 charity novel Rowling had written to benefit Comic Relief, itself inspired by the in-universe textbook that appears throughout her original novels. When Warner Bros. floated the idea of adapting either that book or Quidditch Through the Ages, Rowling reportedly produced a rough draft in just twelve days. She later recalled that while the early pages were far from polished, they revealed the skeleton of a story she wanted to tell. By March 2014, the studio had confirmed a three-film arc, with the opening chapter set in New York City and veteran producer David Heyman and writer Steve Kloves both returning from the Potter films. The series would mark Rowling's screenwriting debut and introduce audiences to Newt Scamander, the fictional author of the original textbook.

The Grindelwald Casting Saga

Gellert Grindelwald, the series' central antagonist, became one of the most unusual casting stories in recent franchise filmmaking. Three different actors donned the role across the three installments. Colin Farrell first embodied the dark wizard in the 2016 opener, where he also played the Ministry official Percival Graves. For the 2018 sequel, Johnny Depp stepped into the part, elevating a brief cameo from the first film into a full leading role. However, by November 2020, during the production of the third installment, Warner Bros. asked Depp to step down after he had already shot three scenes. The decision came amid the intense negative publicity surrounding his ongoing libel case against News Group Newspapers. Depp stated he respected and agreed to the studio's request. Within weeks, Mads Mikkelsen was announced as his replacement, taking on the role for what would become the 2022 conclusion. The main narrative thread connecting all three films follows Albus Dumbledore—portrayed by Jude Law—and his agents, principally Newt Scamander played by Eddie Redmayne, as they work to stop Grindelwald ahead of the First Wizarding War and the approach of the Second World War.

Production Challenges & Delays

The production of the three-film arc, overseen by David Heyman of Heyday Films, stretched across more than six years and faced repeated disruptions. The first film's principal photography kicked off in August 2015 at Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden before the crew relocated to St George's Hall in Liverpool, which was transformed into a 1920s New York City set. The sequel shot from July to December 2017. The third installment proved the most turbulent. Originally slated to begin in July 2019 with a November 2020 release, the schedule was pushed back to give the writing team additional time to refine the script. Steve Kloves, a writer on the original Harry Potter films, returned to co-write alongside Rowling. Then, on 16 March 2020—the very day filming was set to start—the COVID-19 pandemic forced Warner Bros. to halt production entirely. The release date slipped from November 2021 to 15 July 2022. Filming eventually resumed in September 2020 with strict safety protocols, though a positive test among production staff in February 2021 briefly shut down UK shoots again.

Commercial Performance & Critical Reception

As the second film series in the Wizarding World franchise, following the 2001–2011 Harry Potter adaptations, Fantastic Beasts achieved considerable box-office success. Across its three installments, the series collectively grossed more than US$1.8 billion worldwide, a figure roughly three times the total budgeted production costs. However, critical reception proved uneven. The 2016 debut earned largely positive reviews from critics, who praised its visual spectacle and world-building. The 2018 and 2022 sequels, by contrast, drew mixed assessments, with reviewers noting pacing issues and narrative complexity. A recurring critical observation was that the series as a whole fell short of the quality of the original Harry Potter films. Despite this, the franchise demonstrated that audiences remained hungry for stories set in Rowling's magical universe, validating Warner Bros.'s strategy of expanding beyond the original seven-book adaptation. The series cemented the Wizarding World as a multi-generational brand, with Eddie Redmayne's Newt Scamander serving as the anchor character across all three films.

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