Hey guys,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. Now, it’s been 3.5 months or so
since my last video on the Fantastic Beasts films. I’ve addressed the characters and
the storyline, but haven’t discussed the FUTURE films, the films STILL on the way,
in quite some time. Given the volatile state of the world and the impact that covid has
had on the film industry, I thought that I would give you guys an update.
Let me just start off by saying that there are meant to be FIVE films in total, and we’ve
only had 2 so far. First we got ‘Fantastic Beasts and where to find them’, which was
released in 2016, and then we got Fantastic beasts: the Crimes of Grindelwald, which was
released in 2018. Originally, all 5 films were supposed to be released following that
same pattern, coming out once every 2 years. Fantastic Beasts 3, however, is going to break
that pattern. For obvious reasons (a global pandemic) they had to temporarily halt production
on the film, and filmmakers set a new projected release date of November 2021. However, provided
that the new projected release date was made at the HEIGHT of the pandemic, it would have
been a tough projection to make, so in this video I’m going to discuss where they’re
at with the film right now.
First of all, let me just start off by saying that I’m glad that these films were pushed
back. Though I enjoyed the first two films, I think that they could have been done better,
and the public opinion mimics my own sentiment towards the films. Because of how the first
two films were received, Warner Bros even declared last year that they would be putting
an even greater deal of effort in to the films to come.
“Negative reviews and weak box office receipts of the whole series were something which Warner
Bros. noticed quite suddenly, raising serious concerns about their plans to launch five
series of spin-offs. Warner Bros. has now shown a great deal of confidence in giving
the third series with a great deal of effort not to replicate the fate of the previous
films.’
This prompted a rewriting of the screenplay, and given that the pandemic is forcing them
to push the release date back a year, this gives them a lot of time to figure things
out. A few months after Warner Bros released their statement, Rowling released a statement
of her own, where she cited an ‘Incredible vision of where she wants to go’ with the
series. It has also been reported that Harry Potter alumnus Steve Kloves joined Rowling
in the rewriting of the screenplay, so I think that we can expect some really great things.
With a lot of negative press currently being directed at Disney, Kathleen Kennedy, and
how the Star Wars sequel trilogy was handled, it definitely makes sense for Warner Brothers
to TAKE THEIR TIME and give us quality, rather than quantity. In a recent interview featuring
Daisy Ridley, she revealed information which shed light on the fact that the Star Wars
sequel trilogy was not properly thought out, and handled rather haphazardly. Given that
the Harry Potter fan base is just as large as the Star Wars fan base, I’m sure that
Warner Bros are going to tread carefully, as they won’t want to make the same mistakes
that Disney did.
As we have been only given 40% of the films so far, there are still so many gaps and holes
in the story that need to be filled in. The first film took place in the year 1926, the
second in 1927, and the last most likely takes place in 1945 (or perhaps a bit later), as
we know that Grindelwald, the main antagonist, is defeated in 1945. We’ve got 18 years
of information to fill in, so I’m really curious about what year it will be when the
third installment begins. Should we expect a bit of a time jump? I think that the ending
of the last film would certainly support this.
Now, other than the main reason for the film being pushed back, covid, I have also seen
some rumours floating around which suggested that the Fantastic Beasts film franchise is
going to be cut altogether. The reason for this being the negative attention that several
people involved with the film are currently facing. However, in spite of all these things,
Eddie Redmayne shed some light on this, revealing that the show will go on:
“It’s happening, and it's really exciting".
In fact, JUST THIS month, Fantastic Beasts 3 is reported to have begun filming again.
They released a statement a little while ago saying that they would resume in September,
and it seems like they’re on track- as they are reported to have started at the beginning
of this month.
Photos from the backlot of Leavesden Studios were recently leaked, which showed a Fantastic
Beasts set depicting Berlin. This tells us that at least some of the film will take place
in Berlin, Germany which makes total sense to me given the timeframe of the films. In
addition to that, there may be a chance that the film will also be set in Brazil, as Rowling
potentially leaked this information in an old tweet.
“Let’s just say I really ought to be able to spell Rio de Janeiro properly, given how
many times I’ve written/typed it in the last few months.”
However, this tweet was from November 2018, and given that the direction of the film has
changed massively since then (the screenplay was rewritten), this may no longer be a thing.
There have been some reports of actors being seen on set at Leavesden studios as well,
most notably Jude law who plays Dumbledore. There has been some speculation that part
three will put a lot of focus on Law’s character and his involvement with Hogwarts school - this
may be a good strategy as it will further tie things together with the existing magical
world that we know and love.
In addition to Law being seen on set, actor Dan Fogler, who plays Jacob Kowalski, has
openly admitted that he has already been in for a costume fitting - to see if he has put
on a ‘quarantine 15’. He expressed that the safety measures surrounding covid are
‘being taken seriously’.
In the same interview, Fogler was asked what old Harry Potter characters he would like
to see be injected in to the film, and to this he goes off on a tangent about Hagrid.
There’s already been some speculation that Hagrid will be in the films at some point
or another, and I think that it would be a massive disservice to the films if he wasn’t
placed in them in some way. I also don’t think that it’s a coincidence that Eddie
Redmayne, who plays newt Scamander, ALSO revealed that he would like to see Hagrid in the films.
In a Reddit AMA, Redmayne was asked “Which character would you like to see star in Fantastic
Beasts 3?”, to which he replied with an enthusiastic “Hagrid Hagrid always Hagrid”.
The Crimes of Grindewald takes place in the year 1927, with Grindelwald still very much
on his rise to power. The film closes in this same year, and Grindelwald still has so much
character development to undergo, as does everyone else. Hagrid starts at Hogwarts in
the year 1940 - 5 years before Grindewald is defeated. We also know that the upcoming
films may place more of an emphasis on Hogwarts, so it’s really looking good that Hagrid
will make an appearance, which I’m sure will make fans happy.
But, it’s also worth mentioning that a lot of people went to hogwarts between the years
of 1927 and 1945, perhaps most notably a certain dark wizard- LORD VOLDEMORT. That’s right,
Tom Riddle started at Hogwarts in the year 1938, and I can’t wait to see if and how
he is integrated in to the film. If he wasn’t introduced in some way, I just don’t think
that it would make any sense. He’s the most talented student during his time at Hogwarts,
and the wizarding world is facing a huge threat- how could he not be involved?
Bearing all of this in mind, I’m extremely excited for all of the films to come. The
first two were decent, but not amazing, and I’m really happy that they’ve taken the
time to take a step back, and focus on things more clearly. We want a refined final product
that serves as an integration to the existing Harry Potter films, not some prequel trilogy
that takes away from the magic.
What do you guys think? Are you excited for the Fantastic Beasts films? What did you think
of the first two? Which harry potter characters do you think we’ll see in the third installment?
Let me know down in the comment section below
UNTIL NEXT TIME
YER A WIZARD ARRY