The official Harry Potter website, Pottermore, has confirmed the details for Fantastic Beasts 2: The Crimes Of Grindelwald, including the release date and some of the cast that will star in the film. Building on the strength of the first movie, which came out in 2016, the franchise has wasted little time in setting things up for a sequel to go into production with David Yates returning as director. It’s the second of five films that are planned as part of the series, so there’s going to be a hell of a lot more beasts of a fantastical nature running amok throughout the world in the coming years.
However, things are still in the early stages, so it’s not due to arrive on the big screen until late autumn 2018. Filming is set to get underway in summer 2017, so the production will be working on casting in the run up to the opening day on set, but Pottormore has already confirmed that Jude Law (King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword) will be taking his bow in the world of witchcraft and wizardry as the young Aldus Dumbledore, acting as the precursor to the headmaster of Hogwarts that we’ve known throughout the Harry Potter films.
Release date confirmed
The Fantastic Beasts 2: The Crimes Of Grindelwald UK release date has been slated for the 16th November 2018, when it is also planned to arrive at the box office in the US and North America. With such a long lead-in time to the release, it’s possible the date may change a little, especially with filming still not underway, so it will depend on whether or not Yates manages to stick to the production schedule. The original film started its UK box office run on the
Initial story details
While the details for the plot are still a little thin on the ground, the information released on Pottormore does give a little away, with the most important being the introduction of Aldus Dumbledore into the fray. At this point in time Aldus is the Transfiguration professor at Hogwarts and it was revealed in the first film that he’d argued to prevent Newt Scamander from being expelled from the school. Dumbledore will join Newt and the other heroes introduced in Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them in the new adventure in what the site refers to as a “dark time for the wizarding world”.
There are also a number of mentions for the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald, so we’re expecting him to at least be at the fringes of the darkness to the story, if not the main antagonist. Having been captured at the end of the first story, it’s going to be interesting to see what they do with the character next.
Jude Law joins the cast
Jude Law is the only new name confirmed in the cast as of yet as Aldus Dumbledore, but he’ll be teaming up with Eddie Redmayne (My Week With Marilyn) as Newt Scamander in one way or another. The mention of the “other heroes” in the update points to Catherine Waterstones (Alien Covenant) and Alison Sudol (Other People’s Children) returning as Tina Goldstein and her sister Queenie. Gellert Grindelwald was portrayed by Johnny Depp at the end of Fantastic Beasts 1, so if he does return it should be the Pirates Of The Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge star in the role.
With Dan Fogler’s portrayal of no-maj baker Jacob in the previous film, and his relationship with Queenie, we’re hopeful that he’ll be returning in the second movie, but we’ll keep you updated as more details for the cast are confirmed.
David Yates leads the production
Having directed the final four Harry Potter films, as well as the first Fantastic Beasts release, David Yates is pretty well placed to lead the production of the second film as the director. He has a screenplay that has once again been written by J.K. Rowling to work from and filming is due to begin in summer 2017.
First impressions
We’ve been impressed with Jude Law’s appearances in the trailer for King Arthur: Legend of The Sword, and while his casting in the role of Aldus Dumbledore is unexpected, it’s definitely got some potential. The first film set things up well and with another three films still to come after Fantastic Beasts 2: The Crimes Of Grindelwald there’s a fair amount of importance on its delivery, so it should be another impressive movie, building on the characters and the history of the wizarding world.
