Warning: If you have yet to see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, this story contains spoilers from the movie. So unless you know how to obliviate yourself, you might want to apparate out of here if you hope to avoid them.
One down, four to go. That’s how many more Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them movies we still have left after the first film opened this weekend, and while we already knew that Johnny Depp would be making a brief cameo in the movie, we had no idea that his character, the infamous and villainous Dark Lord Gellert Grindelwald, would actually be a far bigger presence.
And he is just getting started.
Because author and Fantastic Beasts screenwriter J.K. Rowling confirmed on Twitter this morning that the five films would be spanning the time period when Grindelwald was at his most dangerous, and they will end when he was finally stopped. When asked by a fan why the planned trilogy was expanded to five movies, Rowling had this to say:
.@lomadia We did say 3 before I did all the plotting, but then we decided that there's just too much story!
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) November 21, 2016
Our story starts in 1926 and ends in 1945. It's just too big to fit in one movie! https://t.co/fb5GOGvTxq
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) November 21, 2016
The year 1945 just so happens to be when Albus Dumbledore and his former friend Gellert Grindelwald had their famous duel, and when Dumbledore finally put an end to Grindelwald’s reign of terror. We had already theorized that this was the grand story the Fantastic Beasts movies would be telling, about Grindelwald’s actions during the early 20th century and his defeat, and this would seem to be confirmation that is exactly where the films are headed.
With Grindelwald currently under arrest in America, and so much talk and backstory given to the American school of witchcraft and wizardry, Ilvermorny, we can safely say at least some of the future story line will take place in the United States, before heading back across the Atlantic to Europe, where Grindelwald kept his prison (the same one he would later be kept in), and where Dumbledore bested him. So there does seem like a lot to explore during the nearly twenty years the movies will cover.
Rowling also took the time to answer a few more questions about the first film and also future installments, like confirming that Newt was wearing a Hufflepuff scarf at the end (that was an easy one!). But as for the question about how Newt could have been expelled from Hogwarts but still kept his wand, whereas poor Hagrid had his broken in half, Rowling said the answers will be forthcoming.
All will become clear. Trust me. https://t.co/NwA12ZzgsA
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) November 21, 2016
Also, when asked about whether we will again see Fine Frenzy’s Queenie Goldstein in the second film, Rowling maybe revealed even more than she intended with her answer.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) November 21, 2016
It’s tough to imagine the wonderful Queenie coming back without a certain No-Maj baker also reappearing. It’s always been safe to assume that Katherine Waterston’s Tina Goldstein would be around for multiple films, since she does end up….(OH YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW THIS, SO, UHHHH, SPOILER ALERT)….marrying Newt, but now we are sure the whole gang will be back too.
Oh, and if you are a lunatic like I am, and care about canon, everything in the films is official, for a simple reason.
Yes, because I'm writing them! https://t.co/KLfJj1Kylo
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) November 21, 2016
Oh, and for those of us that are obsessed with the actual “beasts” part of the movie, Rowling did answer two questions about Frank: is he a real Thunderbird and did he make it back to his home in Arizona?
Yes and yes! https://t.co/SF7rxMd42f
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) November 21, 2016
Oh, good, because we can handle New York City being torn apart by an evil wizard and the entire fate of the world resting in the hands of Johnny Depp, but we wouldn’t be able to enjoy the next movie without knowing if Frank was okay.
What did you think of the movie? What questions do you have after seeing it? Tell us yours in the comments section below.
Featured Image: Warner Bros. Studios
