Actor Dan Fogler says Fantastic Beasts 3 is building to a massive wizarding war. Beginning in 2016, the Fantastic Beasts franchise serves as a prequel to the beloved Harry Potter films. It follows magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) and his adventures in the 1920s. While the first film, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, felt more like a standalone where Newt chased magical creatures around New York City, the 2018 installment Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald tried to connect the franchise to the Harry Potter films and became more focused on the conflict with notorious dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp).
The Crimes of Grindelwald received negative reviews and underperformed at the box office, but the Fantastic Beasts franchise plans to continue on. Writer J.K. Rowling has said there will be five films in total, with each one building to the famous battle between Grindelwald and Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law). Fantastic Beasts 3 is currently set for a November 2021 release and was supposed to begin production this month. However, the coronavirus pandemic has forced the start of production to be delayed, with no new start date set.
In the place of production beginning, Fogler has offered fans some new teases about what to expect from the next installment. Fogler plays No-Maj (Muggle) Jacob Kowalski in the franchise. During an interview with SYFY WIRE, Fogler revealed Fantastic Beasts 3 will feature build-up to a potentially devastating war. Fogler explained, "It’s leading toward this massive war with the backdrop of World War II, so you can just imagine epic battle scenes are coming." The Crimes of Grindelwald already set the stage for a showdown between the heroes and Grindelwald's followers, and Fantastic Beasts 3 looks to continue increasing the stakes.
The mentioned backdrop of World War II is particularly interesting considering the setting of the first two films. They took place in 1926 and 1927, which confirms that there could be a large time jump at some point in the coming films. WWII didn't begin until 1939, so there's a great deal of time to cover before the films reach that point. Additionally, in Harry Potter lore, the final battle between Grindelwald and Dumbledore took place in 1945, so it sounds like the remaining Fantastic Beasts films will cover a large swath of time.
Fogler has previously said that Fantastic Beasts 3 will be larger than the first two films combined. Considering the potential timeline of this franchise, it could be that Fantastic Beasts 3 will cover multiple years. That might not inspire confidence in fans, because The Crimes of Grindelwald was slammed by fans for its jumbled story and jarring plot twists. If Fantastic Beasts 3 tries to cover too much at once, it could lead to another disappointment for audiences. However, as this is all speculation, there's a chance Fantastic Beasts 3 could be the return to form everyone is hoping for. Only time will tell.
Source: SYFY WIRE
