With David Yates in the director’s chair and HARRY POTTER author J.K. Rowling on scripting duties, Warner Bros is prepared to go all in with a three film series based on FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM. The news of the spin-off films being a trilogy is not new, but buried along with the DC Comics and LEGO movie news today that all three films will see release over the next six years.
The first film in the FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM series will debut on November 18, 2016 with the second and third movies in 2018 and 2020, respectively. The assumption is currently that Yates and Rowling will return for all three films, but they are so far only locked in for the first. The films will follow Newt Scamander, a wizard in 1920s New York City, as he investigates magical creatures from around the world. Not much else is known about the plot of the film but we know for certain it will not feature Harry Potter characters directly.
Warner Bros has ambitious plans with their full slate of DC movies, three FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM flicks, plus the LEGO films including THE LEGO MOVIE 2, LEGO BATMAN, and LEGO NINJAGO. All of the movies are slated between now and 2020 meaning the studio has a lot of movies in the pipeline and various stages of development. FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM has not announced any casting, but with production expected to get underway next year, that news should come shortly.
FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM series will open the new series on November 18, 2016.