After the story of Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) came to a close in HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, I was skeptical about a return to J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World, but with the release of FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM, Rowling has proved that there are many more stories to tell. The first film introduced us to Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), and witches Tina (Katherine Waterston) and Queenie (Alison Sudol), as well as Jacob (Dan Fogler), a muggle who got pulled into Newt's adventures after a chance encounter.
The upcoming sequel, FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD, will greatly expand the world and bring our new group of characters to Paris, among other places. Total Film has a brand-new image from the David Yates film which finds Newt and Jacob hitting the streets of Paris. It's not much, but if you look closely you can clearly see that Jacob is holding a bucket. A bucket! What magical contents might its rugged interior contain? A Niffler? A dozen Doxy eggs? Green milk? I've had too much Egg Nog, clearly.
FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD will open in 1927, a few months after the events of the first film in which Newt Scamander helped to capture the infamous dark wizard Grindelwald (Johnny Depp), and, as he promised he would, Grindelwald has made a dramatic escape and has been gathering more followers to his cause — elevating wizards above all non-magical beings. The only one who might be able to stop him is the wizard he once called his dearest friend, Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law). But Dumbledore will need help from the wizard who had thwarted Grindelwald once before, his former student Newt Scamander. The adventure reunites Newt with Tina (Katherine Waterston), Queenie (Alison Sudol) and Jacob (Dan Fogler), but his mission will also test their loyalties as they face new perils in an increasingly dangerous and divided wizarding world.
In addition to the returning characters from the first film, which includes Ezra Miller as the enigmatic Credence, the sequel will also star Claudia Kim as a Maledictus, the carrier of a blood curse that destines her ultimately to transform into a beasts, Callum Turner as Newt's older brother, Theseus Scamander, a celebrated war hero and the Head of the Auror Office at the British Ministry of Magic, and we'll also be properly introduced to Leta Lestrange, played by Zoe Kravitiz, who had once been close to Newt but is now engaged to his brother.
FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD will hit theaters on November 16, 2018.