Quintet of “Fantastic Beasts” Films Will Explore the Rise of Grindelwald

by · October 13, 2016

Unless you’ve been under a Hagrid-sized rock, you’re probably aware that a very special event took place today!

Fans in London and Los Angeles got a chance to see the actors, as well as director David Yates and producer David Heyman, of the upcoming Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them answer questions submitted from fans across the globe. Here’s what we’ve learned:

First, that there will be a total of five Fantastic Beasts films. That’s right, five new movies from the incredible imagination of J.K. Rowling are coming our way!

In addition, it was revealed that future films in the series will take place in at least one other “big capital city” across the world (although, of course, New York is not the No-Maj capital of the United States, it seems to be the wizarding capital, at least at the time). One such capital city is rumored to be Paris, France, though that information has not been confirmed at this time.

But some big reveals about this particular installment in the franchise came in the form of some exclusive new footage, which you can see below:

 

 

In the final official trailer released, MACUSA President Seraphina Picquery said a name that was familiar to all Potter fans: Grindelwald. It seems from the new clips that were released today in this special event that the Darkest wizard before Lord Voldemort will be the major villain of the series. Several posters and newspaper headlines feature the infamous name, as well as hints about what his rise to power was like for the wizarding community across the globe. There is even speculation that we get a scene of the man himself since there is a brief glimpse of a blond man destroying a gate or building.

As hinted at in the recently released posters, it seems that Auror Percival Graves is a follower of Grindelwald – and that he may be trying to recruit young Credence to Dark Magic. In the livestreamed event, David Yates and David Heyman also hinted that Grindelwald will become an important character in the films, though they emphasized they were not allowed to say more.

The beginning of the footage, which starts with the Hogwarts Express, a shot of Big Ben, and some familiar dialogue from the Harry Potter films, also offers an enticing clue to how these two series may be connected together. Dumbledore’s line from Half-Blood Prince – “What you’re looking at is memories.” – is repeated just before a line we’ve previously heard from Graves: “You’re an interesting man, Mr. Scamander.” Does this mean that we could be introduced to this movie through the memories of Dumbledore or someone else, possibly Newt?

“This is always where I was interested in going. This is what I wanted to do,” Rowling tells us at the end of the exclusive footage. With all of this new information, we can’t wait to go with you on this new adventure, Jo!

Did you attend the event or watch the livestream? What did you think about the new information revealed? Jot down your thoughts in our comments section below!