Last month it was announced by J.K. Rowling that the upcoming Harry Potter spinoff Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them has expanded from a trilogy to span five movies, and now director David Yates has revealed to THR that he has committed to direct the entire series.
“I love making films, and I’ve got a great team, all of whom are like family,” said Yates, who also directed the final four instalments of the Harry Potter franchise. He went on to reveal that J.K. Rowling plans on scripting all five movies, and is “putting the finishing touches” on the screenplay for the sequel, which will introduce the characters of Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald, with the latter played by Johnny Depp.
Wizarding World fans – are you excited that David Yates will be directing all five Fantastic Beasts movies, or would you have liked to see someone else trying their hand at the franchise? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below…
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Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them opens in 1926 as Newt Scamander has just completed a global excursion to find and document an extraordinary array of magical creatures. Arriving in New York for a brief stopover, he might have come and gone without incident…were it not for a No-Maj (American for Muggle) named Jacob, a misplaced magical case, and the escape of some of Newt’s fantastic beasts, which could spell trouble for both the wizarding and No-Maj worlds.
“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” stars Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne (“The Theory of Everything”), Katherine Waterston (“Steve Jobs,” “Inherent Vice”) as Tina; Tony Award winner Dan Fogler (“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”) as Jacob; Alison Sudol (“Dig,” “Transparent”) as Tina’s sister, Queenie; Ezra Miller (“Trainwreck”) as Credence; two-time Oscar nominee Samantha Morton (“In America,” “Sweet and Lowdown”) as Mary Lou; Oscar winner Jon Voight (“Coming Home,” TV’s “Ray Donovan”) as Henry Shaw, Sr.; Ron Perlman (the “Hellboy” films) as Gnarlack; Carmen Ejogo (“Selma”) as Seraphina; Jenn Murray (“Brooklyn”) as Chastity; young newcomer Faith Wood-Blagrove as Modesty; and Colin Farrell (“True Detective”) as Percival Graves.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is set for release on November 18th.
Originally published November 12, 2016. Updated December 16, 2019.
