The next instalment of J.K. Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts franchise has faced a delay in production, according to Deadline. Instead of beginning its shoot in July as was the original plan, Warner Bros. has now pushed production on Fantastic Beasts 3 back to late fall this year.
The delay comes after Warner Bros. determined the film needed more prep-time before cameras started rolling. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald only came out in theatres a couple of months ago and director David Yates and his team would need to be in prep now, which the project is just not ready for. The cast has been notified of the delay in order to accommodate their schedules.
Yates is currently still set to direct Fantastic Beasts 3 with Harry Potter veterans David Heyman, Steve Kloves, Lionel Wigram and Rowling producing. Rowling has once again written the screenplay.
Details on Fantastic Beasts 3 are being kept under wraps, but the third instalment in the five-part franchise will explore the ramifications of the last film’s cliffhanger and the growing war between Grindelwald and the rest of the wizarding world.
Eddie Redmayne stars Magizoologist Newt Scamander, a collector and tamer of mystical beasts, who finds himself caught in the middle of the brewing war. The films have also starred Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Dan Fogler, Jude Law and Johnny Depp. It can be assumed that all of the main cast will return for the next film.
Fantastic Beasts 3 is slated to arrive on November 20th, 2020, but it is unknown if the production delay will also push its release back.
