Fantastic Beasts Trilogy

This is long overdue. I’ve been wanting to talk about Fantastic Beasts for a long time. Harry Potter is currently my second favourite franchise (behind Star Wars, and third place is probably Lord of the Rings/Middle-earth). When I covered all the Harry Potter films back in 2018 & 2019, I had wanted to do Fantastic Beasts next (along with all the Middle-earth films). But then I got distracted talking about other things and just didn’t get around to it.

Well, I’ll fix that now then. Here is my Fantastic Beasts overview.

I can remember watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 in theatres for the first time. And of course, I can remember the numerous occasions I’ve rewatched the film since then. It was, and still is, as epic of a finale as I could have asked for. It was sad in some ways to have it all be over, but at least it ended on a powerful note.

As it turned out, however, it was not the last installment in the series after all. Five years later, we were given not one, but two new continuations. Along with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, there was the follow-up play/book, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I had mixed feelings about Cursed Child, even if I did enjoy some of the ideas in it (my original review of it here).

But what about Fantastic Beasts? Well, before I even saw the film, the fact that J.K. Rowling was the screenwriter was enough to give me faith that it would be a good movie, so I was already pumped for that reason. Although it has been interesting to see how, in the years since the release of the first installment, Rowling has become a very controversial figure. And, while I don’t condone her transphobia in any way, I do nonetheless think she is a very gifted writer, and it shines through with the same sort of Harry Potter magic that she also brings to Fantastic Beasts. Her stories are rich and imaginative and full of vibrant characters.

For starters, this is a great concept for a Harry Potter spin-off series. It feels in the spirit of Harry Potter, while distinct from it at the same time. It’s familiar, yet different. Fantastic Beasts is set in the 1920s and 30s, several decades before Harry Potter, and follows an older set of characters. Even though they’re more adult-oriented films, they still feel magical and full of wonder. It’s like a more grown-up Harry Potter.

Another nice thing about the sub-series is that it shows us what the rest of the Wizarding World is like. Harry Potter took place entirely in Britain, while Fantastic Beasts shows us the USA, France, Germany, among others. The other countries are even shown to have their own unique Ministry of Magic buildings, which is pretty cool.

(As usual, expect spoilers!)

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Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Released: 2016

We get an eerie introduction where a group of Aurors (basically wizarding police officers) are approaching the hideout of the dark wizard, Gellert Grindelwald, only for the Aurors to immediately get blasted away and killed as Grindelwald steps ominously into the frame. This is followed by some shots of equally foreboding newspaper headlines which detail the current state of affairs in the wizarding community.

But then the scene shifts to a much more jovial setting of a man on a ship that is arriving in New York City. This is our main protagonist, Newt Scamander. A socially awkward yet endearing guy, who has with him a magical briefcase full of strange and wonderful creatures. Soon after, we are introduced to the rest of our core characters. There’s Tina Goldstein, the no-nonsense witch who works for MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States of America) and brings Newt in for questioning after finding him suspicious, but she gradually warms up over the course of the movie. There’s Queenie Goldstein, Tina’s quirky sister who can read minds. And then there’s Jacob Kowalski, a down-on-his-luck Muggle who by chance gets wrapped up in a crazy world full of magical creatures and dark wizarding conspiracies.

The characters are all immediately charming and likeable. It’s the perfect group dynamic for the four of them to run around New York and get mixed up in all sorts of crazy scenarios. A comment I read online from user ‘Jonaelize’, which I agree whole-heartedly with: “I loved Newt. Finally a male figure in a big movie that has at his defining traits, that he is caring.”

Another nice character detail is with Jacob. For the first time in the franchise, we get a Muggle (or “No-Maj”, in this case) as one of the main protagonists. In the Harry Potter books and films, the most prominent Muggle characters were the Dursleys, Harry’s awful guardians. Granted, even in the original series, it was shown that not all Muggles were like that. But still, the Dursleys were the standout example, and it did give the concept of Muggles a somewhat negative aura. Fantastic Beasts, meanwhile, amends this with Jacob, who is as wholesome and loveable as any of the protagonists we’ve had in this universe. It helps sanitize the portrayal of Muggles in the series. Jacob & Queenie’s love story is also really sweet.

While Newt and his newfound friends race against the clock to get some of his escaped creatures back before the creatures cause too much damage and mayhem, or get into danger themselves, other trouble is brewing elsewhere. MACUSA employee Percival Graves is working with a troubled young wizard named Credence Barebone to track down an Obscurial, a young witch or wizard who has become infected with dark energy.

All in all, it’s a great outing and a fun look into a different setting and different era of the Wizarding World.

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Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

Released: 2018

The previous film ended with the diabolical Gellert Grindelwald getting sent to prison. Predictably, it does not last and he soon escapes, and he wastes no time in cooking up another diabolical scheme.

The scale opens up in comparison to the first film, which took place entirely in New York City. Here, more locations are featured and more characters are introduced. Among the standout characters are Newt’s older brother, Theseus, who comes off more business-like and much less socially awkward than his brother, but still a gentle and kind soul. There’s also Yusuf Kama, a mysterious and seemingly sinister man who eventually shows that there’s more to him than meets the eye. Among the new faces, we also have a familiar face: Here we meet a younger Albus Dumbledore, played fantastically by Jude Law.

A lot of people didn’t like how the focus shifted starting with this installment, how it becomes less about Newt and his magical creatures and more about Grindelwald and his rise to power. I myself didn’t mind. I thought it made enough narrative sense. The previous film was largely about Newt and friends hunting around the city for his escaped creatures. Which, while fun, felt like a one-off adventure to begin with. If they were going to make a series out of this, it made sense to establish a longer-term threat, just like Lord Voldemort in the original series. Besides, Grindelwald was already being set up as the main villain from the very opening scene of the first movie. And, while Newt is a great character, and the creatures are imaginative, the conflict with Grindelwald was more interesting to me anyway.

And speaking of Grindelwald, he’s my favourite villain in the Harry Potter universe. He contrasts nicely from Voldemort. Where Voldemort was more outwardly and obviously evil, Grindelwald is more subdued. He’s still clearly a bad dude, but he’s also a lot more charming and he uses that to his advantage. Case in point, how he uses that charm and some careful wording to easily manipulate Queenie into joining his cause.

Queenie, who was very openly heroic in the first movie and suddenly siding with Grindelwald here, makes for a good twist. Her reasons for doing so are likewise understandable. They’re not good reasons, mind you, but you do get where she’s coming from. Even if the pay-off to this in the next movie ends up being a bit underwhelming, but still, it’s an effective and unexpected change in direction for her character.

Jacob returns as well, with the reveal that he got most of his memories back after having lost them in the previous film. As much as I like Jacob, I have slightly mixed feelings about him coming back like this. On one hand, it does undo the bittersweet ending to his character arc in the previous film (where Jacob lost his memory of his friends, but Newt still helped Jacob get the bakery he wanted). But on the other hand, his and Queenie’s story here continues to be compelling, which we would’ve missed out on if he’d been written out after the first film. And then there’s Jacob and Newt, the other standout duo here, who continue to be a joy. Many of the best parts of the film are when it’s just Newt and Jacob together. And Jacob is a great character by himself too, so on the whole, the pros outweigh the cons.

Gunnar Grimmson is also a memorable antagonist; an ice-cold bounty hunter who is later revealed to be a secret henchman of Grindelwald. But the most interesting part is at Grimmson’s introduction when he shows up at Newt’s Ministry of Magic meeting and the two of them recognize each other, and Newt is very clearly not pleased to see Grimmson. I wanted to know more about whatever their unpleasant history together was, but sadly, this does not get followed up on. Perhaps Grimmson was meant to reappear at some point in Fantastic Beasts 4?

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Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

Released: 2022

This is my favourite of the three. While the first was a creature hunt in New York City, and the second had a ‘getting the plot pieces all lined up’ feel, this one is an adventure film the most, and it pays off much of what the second film set up.

Grindelwald is hatching yet another scheme, and Dumbledore knows it. And so, this time around, Dumbledore proves that he himself is not such a bad schemer by concocting a plan to thwart Grindelwald’s own scheme. For this mission, Dumbledore recruits Newt, Jacob, Theseus, Yusuf, Bunty, and Eulalie to help him. Bunty and Eulalie were minor characters in the second movie, but they each have a much larger role here. It’s a different setup from the core group in the first movie, but it’s a nice way to shake things up.

Anton Vogel, the German Minister of Magic, is yet another memorable baddie. Just as with Grimmson, Vogel’s first appearance doesn’t make it immediately clear if he’s affiliated with Grindelwald or not. But his presence is mysterious and intimidating enough that the eventual reveal that he is on Grindelwald’s side isn’t too surprising. But he’s a great addition to the cast regardless.

Mixed feelings regarding Queenie’s story here. She and Credence remain with Grindelwald for most of the movie, but they both have a change of heart and defect from Grindelwald’s forces at the end. I still really like Queenie’s character, and it is a sweet and satisfying moment to have her back with Jacob and the rest of their friends after everything is over. But storywise, it does seem too abrupt a resolution to the whole thing. All the moreso since we never actually saw her doing anything villainous while she was with Grindelwald. Credence’s character arc was handled better in that sense, since we do get to see him carrying out Grindelwald’s dirty work.

Despite the satisfying moment of Queenie’s redemption, it probably would’ve worked better if it had come in the fifth film instead.

As for Credence, at the end of the second movie, he was revealed to (possibly) be a Dumbledore relative, in what appeared to be another brother of Albus Dumbledore, which seemed like a questionable plot twist at the time. Since, in the original series, Albus was established to have only two other siblings (Aberforth and Ariana), and it didn’t seem to make sense that Albus would have another brother on top of that who hadn’t been seen or mentioned before. However, I refrained from criticizing it back when I first saw Crimes of Grindelwald, simply because I wanted to see how it would play out before assessing how good or bad the reveal was. Thankfully, it actually comes to a satisfying resolution; a reveal that manages to be surprising, while still making sense within Harry Potter lore.

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What comes next…?

Leading up to the release of the first film, it was initially announced that it would be the start of a trilogy. After that, it was announced that it was being expanded into a five-film saga. Since the third film’s release, however, things have stalled, and so far there hasn’t been any announcement about production starting on the fourth film. Director David Yates says that everyone in the production simply wanted a break after the third film, which is understandable enough, and David is open to the idea that they’ll eventually be back. Still, it’s definitely an unclear future right now. If the sub-franchise has indeed been cancelled, it’ll leave things as a trilogy after all.

What’s interesting is that the third film ends on a largely resolved note. Since Queenie is back on the heroes’ side, along with her marrying Jacob, and Tina and Newt reunite. As well, Grindelwald’s big plot to take control of the International Confederation of Wizards has been foiled, the blood pact between him and Dumbledore is destroyed, and the mystery of Credence’s identity is resolved. Albeit, Grindelwald himself manages to escape, and it’s clear that his conflict with Dumbledore is not yet over.

I noticed that Tina has a much smaller role in the third movie compared to the first two. I wonder if she would’ve been more prominent again in the planned fourth and fifth movies. For that matter, I wonder if Newt, Queenie, & Jacob would’ve had more to do in the following movies, or if the third film was essentially meant to wrap up their character arcs.

Regardless, I really want them to make the final two movies and to see how the saga will end. According to Harry Potter lore, Dumbledore and Grindelwald had their final duel in 1945, the same year World War II came to an end. It would be especially interesting in the last two movies to see the wizarding conflict play out against the backdrop of World War II, a direction that the franchise hasn’t taken before. And of course, I want to see the final duel between Dumbledore and Grindelwald, which could be even more epic than Dumbledore’s duel with Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

In the meantime, what is coming next for the franchise then?

It turns out we’re getting another adaptation of the Harry Potter novels. Except this time, it’ll be done as a TV series instead of a film series. The apparent plan is that it’ll be seven seasons, with one season adapting each of the seven books, and it’ll have a brand new cast as well. Along with Fantastic Beasts being left in limbo, and I was pretty “meh” about this announcement at first. Instead of continuing with their newer story, it just felt as if they were going back to tread over the same ground again by doing another adaptation of the same story they’d already told before.

But the more I thought about it, the more I began to think that this could actually be a fun idea. Since, as much as I love the original Harry Potter films, they did have to cut out a lot of material from the books. Whereas a TV series, on the other hand, would have the extra space to adapt the story more thoroughly and faithfully, and could thus include some of the material that’d been left out of the original films. At the very least, I’m curious to see how this new series will end up comparing to the original films.

Although I do wonder if there’ll still be some sort of continuation of the Fantastic Beasts story at some point, even if it takes many years. Too bad I don’t have a time-turner, as then I’d be able to jump into the future to find out. In the meantime, we’ll just have to wait and see.