J.K. Rowling has been facing intense backlash following her most recent anti-trans comments, and here’s how these can affect Fantastic Beasts 3. Rowling reached international recognition and acclaim thanks to the Harry Potter book series, published between 1997 and 2007, beginning with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. The series introduced readers to the Wizarding World through the story of Harry Potter (“the boy who lived”) and the darkest wizard of all, Lord Voldemort.
The Harry Potter series made the jump to the big screen between 2001 and 2011, with the final novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, being split into two films. The Wizarding World continued expanding in film with the release of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, based on the 2001 “guide book” of the same name. Though it didn’t receive the same praise as the Harry Potter films, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them made way for a sequel (and, possibly, three more films), titled Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.
The Fantastic Beasts series has already been involved in controversy, though not any that involved Rowling directly. Fans weren’t on board with Warner Bros. deciding to stick with Johnny Depp as Grindelwald following his divorce from Amber Heard and accusations of domestic violence. This played a big role in viewers not being interested in Fantastic Beasts 2 (besides the first one not being a favorite among Harry Potter fans), and Rowling’s anti-trans comments will surely affect the audience’s reception of Fantastic Beasts 3 – if it does happen, of course.
Rowling’s comments don’t match with what she has preached through the Wizarding World: a safe environment for “everyone”, where empathy and the power of love are the biggest moving forces. It doesn’t help that, as Bayana Davis – co-host of the #Wizardteam podcast and co-founder and editor-in-chief of Black Girls Create – said (via Variety), Rowling has “a track record of not listening to people when they try to call her out”, which was evident in her response to the controversy around her comments. Instead of getting the audience to “empathize with her” as she intended, viewers will only be drawn further away from her work after this, and the project that will be directly affected by her actions is Fantastic Beasts 3.
It doesn’t help either that Johnny Depp is still on board to play Grindelwald (as he continues to be involved in a legal battle with Amber Heard, with fans taking sides) and that Ezra Miller recently had their own moment of controversy when a video of them choking a woman was released. In addition to that, Fantastic Beasts lead Eddie Redmayne has already expressed he disagrees with Rowling’s comments and shared his support to the trans community, so it wouldn't be surprising if he decided to not continue working with the author. Not long after Rowling’s tweets, Daniel Radcliffe also shared a statement, in which he apologized to fans for Rowling’s anti-trans comments and reminded them that transgender women are women.
Meanwhile, Warner Bros. hasn’t commented on the issue, and it’s unknown if Fantastic Beasts 3 will still happen – and if it does, if Rowling will continue to be involved in the series, as she wrote the previous two films. With Harry Potter being a very important part in the lives of many, fans are choosing to separate the author from her work, which will allow the series to continue living, but the same can’t be said about Fantastic Beasts, which hasn’t been very popular to begin with.