Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald is shaping up to be something very special, promising to tie in the franchise’s plotline more closely with what we know from the Harry Potter books and films, including a return to Hogwarts and the appearance of Jude Law as the young Dumbledore. It looks like audiences are responding to the hype machine, too, as the upcoming film has just been voted into the top spot on Fandango’s list of most anticipated fall releases.
With a script by J.K. Rowling, things are about to step up a notch for Newt Scamander and co. with the escape of notorious dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald, whose portrayal by Johnny Depp was glimpsed in the closing scenes of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The sequel will apparently see him gathering new followers in an attempt to execute a rather Voldemort-y plan of wizard domination over the Muggle world. Stepping into the middle of this is Albus Dumbledore, who has to balance his feelings towards Grindelwald with his mission to stop him at any cost.
Going up against what’s sure to be a cinematic titan is a challenging proposition, but running a close second in Fandango’s poll is the Freddie Mercury and Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody (November 2nd), with Venom (October 5th) in third place, Ralph Breaks the Internet (November 21st) in fourth and the Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga remake of A Star is Born (October 5th) in fifth place.
Perhaps notable by their absence are the Blumhouse remake of Halloween (October 19th), Creed II (November 21st) and The Predator (September 14th), though once the marketing machine kicks into full gear for those projects, we expect audience anticipation of them to skyrocket. Either way, it’s looking like a pretty damn great Fall for movies, and I’ll see you in the multiplex for all of those releases I just mentioned and more.
