Warner Bros.’ Wizarding franchise just got a little bigger today: the Brazil-set Fantastic Beasts 3 is officially moving forward, with production set to kick off early next year.
Deadline has the scoop, confirming that Warner has penciled the so-far untitled threequel in for a production start in spring 2020, ahead of a global launch on November 21st, 2021. That’s a little bit later than Potterheads initially expected, so news that Warner Bros. is officially committed to Fantastic Beasts 3 will allay any fears that the Harry Potter spinoff series was treading on thin ice – not least because of the diminishing box office returns of The Crimes of Grindelwald.
In keeping with David Yates and J.K. Rowling’s promise of a global adventure, Fantastic Beasts 3 is expected to take place in 1927 Brazil, where Jessica Williams, who featured briefly in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, will enjoy a much more meaty role as Professor Eulalie “Lally” Hicks, a teacher at Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the American equivalent of Hogwarts.
Per Deadline, the Powers That Be are also set to welcome the return of Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander, Jude Law as Albus Dumbledore and Johnny Depp as Gellert Grindelwald. There’s also room in the roster for Ezra Miller (Credence / Aurelius Dumbledore), Alison Sudol (Queenie Goldstein), Dan Fogler (Jacob Kowalski) and Katherine Waterston (Tina Goldstein).
Perhaps the most interesting element of this news tidbit is the fact that Johnny Depp is expected to reprise the role of Gellert Grindewald, despite the controversies surrounding his relationship with Amber Heard. Such claims resulted in a fan-led petition calling on Warner Bros. to drop Depp from the Fantastic Beasts franchise entirely, but to no avail.
Fantastic Beasts 3 opens big on November 21st, 2021 – just a few short weeks after Thor: Love and Thunder.
