Summary

• The Fantastic Beasts franchise includes three movies, with Secrets of Dumbledore potentially being the last installment.
• The prequel series connects closely with the Harry Potter franchise, focusing on Grindelwald's rise and Dumbledore's involvement.
• Despite initial plans for five movies, the future of the series is uncertain due to poor box office performance and controversy.

As the Wizarding World franchise continues to grow, the complete Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts movies order becomes more complex. J.K. Rowling's magical novels became one of Hollywood's biggest franchises throughout the 2000s. Audiences watched eight movies centered around Daniel Radcliffe's Harry Potter that showed his ascension through Hogwarts and pivotal role in defeating Voldemort. The eight Harry Potter films were followed by a prequel series, Fantastic Beasts, and is now going to be expanded further by a reboot TV series.

The Fantastic Beasts movies kicked off in 2016 with Eddie Redmayne's magizoologist Newt Scamander taking the lead role. The prequel series was originally rather disconnected from the main Harry Potter movies, but that changed dramatically with its sequels, as Grindelwald gained a bigger role, a young Albus Dumbledore appeared, and more connective tissue formed. The series was originally intended to be five movies long, but following actor controversy and a poor box office performance, it seems that the third film may be the final installment in the series.

Fantastic Beasts Movies In Release Order

Putting the Fantastic Beasts movies in order based on the franchise's release dates is extremely straightforward. The prequel franchise began in 2016, five years after the end of the original Harry Potter seires. For those wanting a complete viewing of the franchise in terms of release dates, the Fantastic Beasts movies order is as follows:

• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)
• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)
• Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022)

Harry Potter & Fantastic Beasts Movies In Chronological Order

Whereas Harry Potter's coming-of-age story was told throughout the 1990s, the Fantastic Beasts films take place 50-65 years prior, in the 1920s and 30s. The original movie centered on Newt Scamander is set in 1927, 65 years before the first Harry Potter, but sequels move the prequels closer to these events. For those seeking a Harry Potter timeline viewing order without the need of a Marauder's Map, here's how to watch the Fantastic Beasts movies in order.

All three of the Fantastic Beasts films are available to stream on HBO Max.

1926: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)

The first in the series starts in 1926, with Newt Scamander's arrival in New York. The young magizoologist brings with him a case filled with magical creatures, and through a series of misadventures, the creatures are accidentally released around the city, leaving Newt to wrangle them with the help of muggle (or no-maj) Jacob Kowalski, Porpentina "Tina" Goldstein, a demoted Auror, and her sister, Queenie. The movie introduces the Magical Congress of the United States, and the infamous Gellert Grindelwald, as well as the New Salem Philanthropic Society, a group of anti-magic humans who believe that witches are real, and dangerous. Her adopted son, Credence, is also introduced as an Obscurial - a dangerous child whose repressed magic has made him intensely powerful.

1927: Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)

Set shortly after the first film, The Crimes Of Grindelwald picks up with the escape of Grindelwald, and the original crew reuniting in a search for Credence, who has fled to Paris. While the original film shows the magical world of the United States in the 20s, this second installment moves to Europe, with most of the action taking place in France (and the introduction of the French Ministry of Magic), as well as a few scenes in Hogwarts. The action also focuses more on the lore that Harry Potter fans are familiar with, as Grindelwald starts to build his following, based on the idea that witches and wizards should not be forced to hide to protect those without magic.

1932: Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022)

Newt and his friends work together once again, alongside Dumbledore, in order to try and thwart Grindelwald's devious plans.

The third, and potentially final, film in the series starts after a time jump of ten years - bringing it into the 30s, and a few years before the Second World War begins.This larger time jump allows for the third film to allow for greater growth of the characters between movies, and makes sense for the original plan of five films, leading up to the events of WW2. The film also changes location again, with some scenes in the UK and China, while the bulk of the action takes place in Germany and Bhutan. Newt and his friends work together once again, alongside Dumbledore, in order to try and thwart Grindelwald's devious plans to become the new Supreme Leader of the International Confederation of Wizards.

Why The Final Two Fantastic Beasts Movies Might Not Be Made

When the Fantastic Beasts franchise was announced, Rowling said that it was intended to be five movies long - and that this would lead up to the famous duel between Dumbledore and Grindelwald, which is a huge moment in Wizarding World lore. In the Harry Potter series, this duel takes place in 1945, with obvious parallels between Grindelwald's rise and the Second World War.

The plot of the first three films were clearly building toward this duel, as well - the first introduces the core characters, and the second and third focus on Grindelwald's rise, the instability of the magical community and the debates over its secrecy, and the breaking of a blood pact between Dumbledore and Grindelwald that would allow the duel to eventually happen. Presumably, the final two films were intended to cover more of the story, and would end with the duel in the fifth film, after which Dumbledore becomes Hogwarts Headmaster, and Grindelwald is sentenced to life in prison.

However, fans will likely not be seeing this duel on the big screen any time soon, as there is nothing in development at Warner Brothers for a Fantastic Beasts 4, despite the original plans. The cancellation of the series has not been officially announced, but it appears to be dead in the water, due largely to a poor box office return. Although the first film was relatively well-received, and earned a respectable $814 million, the second dropped to just over $650 million, and the third brought in just over $400 million - making it the lowest-earning of all the Wizarding World movies.

Quite simply, this trend is not one that Warner Bros would want to spend more money on - especially as the reviews match the box office, getting progressively worse with each film. In addition, controversy around the casting of Johnny Depp, and around Rowling's continued anti-trans sentiments, have led to the franchise struggling to find the kind of devoted audience that the original Harry Potter films did.

Where To Watch The Fantastic Beasts Movies

Whether the franchise returns for the final two installments or not, fans will next be looking for where they can watch the existing three films, and there are a few places to do just that. All three of the Fantastic Beasts films are available to stream on HBO Max. While many movies move between streaming services as licensing changes, Max will surely keep the franchise, especially with the Harry Potter show on the horizon.

However, if for some reason Warner Bros. removes one of its biggest franchises from Max, there are always on-demand options for the movies with each of the Fantastic Beasts movies available to rent on Apple TV for $3.99 or to buy for $14.99.