Where in the World Is Newt Scamander? Well, Everywhere!
The new Fantastic Beasts franchise certainly set itself a lofty goal when it was first introduced. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them set out to expand our beloved wizarding world beyond England, and expand it did. The film’s 2016 debut gave us a glimpse into the magic of wizarding New York City but left us wanting to see more! What does wizarding Paris look like? Wizarding Tokyo? Wizarding Dubai?
If you’re as curious as we are, you’ll be glad to hear that director David Yates confirmed this week that each of the remaining four Fantastic Beasts films will take place in a different city:
Jo’s already told us where the next one is taking place. It’s very exciting. This is a global story, ultimately. And given that there’s a global audience for this, it’s all the more delightful to take the story to different parts of the world.
We already know that Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is almost entirely set in Paris, and producer David Heyman hints that the change of city will have a major effect on the tone of the film:
We delve deeper into [J.K. Rowling’s] wizarding world — we’re in Paris, we’re in London and New York — the world is expanding. As you can tell from the [cast photo], we’re following quite a few characters. The new film has a very different feel than the first. It’s got a thriller quality. And it’s also a story about love and passion and all its forms — paternal, romantic, political. And it’s just a thrilling and very fun adventure. We took all we’ve learned from one and just expanded that and created a richer, deeper and more thrilling film, which I’m excited to be a part of.
The most recent images from the film certainly show this new, dark setting. We finally get a peek at Poppy Corby-Tuech as Vinda Rosier alongside Johnny Depp’s Grindelwald. And check out Tina’s new hair! No doubt the change in style reflects the changing political tides in the global wizarding community.
With Fantastic Beasts set in an English-speaking city, Crimes of Grindelwald set in a French-speaking city, and the confirmation that each film will take place in a different city, we are reminded of this tweet by Rowling from October 2016.
5. Five. Cinq. Fünf. Cinco. Cinque. https://t.co/t8UVZMtO8V
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) October 13, 2016
Taking this confirmation into account, the tweet, stating the word for 5 in English, French, German, Portuguese/Spanish, and Italian, respectively, points to the third, fourth, and fifth installments in the film series being set in a German-speaking, Portuguese- or Spanish-speaking, and Italian-speaking city! Of course, this revelation only opens up more questions! If J.K. Rowling already knows the next location, what does that mean for Newt and his story? Why all this globetrotting? Is it all just a wild goose chase for that pesky escaped Niffler? We’ll just have to wait until November 16 to find out!
