The moment Warner Bros. and J.K. Rowling announced plans to spin out a live-action feature film based on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Potterheads were beside themselves with excitement.
Although it hasn’t been too long since Deathly Hallows – Part 2 graced the silver screen – five years, in fact – few franchises can hold a candle to the Harry Potter fandom. This, coupled with the rich nature of Rowling’s universe of witchcraft and wizardry, has encouraged Warner Bros. to go all-in on the upcoming spinoff, after announcing plans that Fantastic Beasts will span not three, but five movies in total. Say hello to WB’s new cash cow.
Shifting the action across the pond and onto the streets of New York City, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is set against the Roaring ’20s, where Eddie Redmayne’s eccentric genius Newt Scamander descends upon the Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA) with a briefcase crammed full of magical oddities.
Also starring Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Dan Fogler, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton, Gemma Chan, Carmen Ejogo, and Ron Perlman as goblin gangster Gnarlak, director David Yates has lined the Fantastic Beasts cast with a series of A-listers, though it remains to be seen who among that roster will be back for more witchcraft and wizardry in 2018 and beyond. Redmayne seems like a shoo-in, but only time will tell.
David Yates will tell the story of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them on November 18. It’ll be followed in quick succession by a second movie in 2018, and we imagine that Warner plans to roll out a new installment every other year from 2016 onwards. Buckle up, folks, this is just the beginning.
