Newt Scamander might not be main character in Fantastic Beast sequels

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

MAJOR SPOILER FOR THIS ARTICLE!!! SO IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE DON'T READ ANY MORE! UNLESS YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT SPOILERS, THEN READ AHEAD, WE LIKE THE CLICKS! ANYWAY, YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!

Alright, for those of you still with us, there's been some interesting news concerning the FANTASTIC BEAST sequels (themselves big-budget spin-offs of the HARRY POTTER films/books): apparently Newt Scamander, the seemingly on-the-spectrum magical zoologist, won't be the focus of the new films.

This seems pretty unprecedented to me (though I'm sure there are examples to the contrary, like the XXX series), especially for such a big, expensive endeavor. I wonder how Eddie Redmayne is taking the news?

But that's not the spoiler I was talking about (I mean, that info is basically in the headline). No, what's interesting is what they instead will focus on.

David Heyman, the HARRY POTTER producer (who's also working on that warring cat movie), had this to say:

I don't think [Newt will be at] the heart of all of them. I think he'll be part — so will Tina, Queenie and Jacob…[But Dumbledore] and Credence and Grindelwald, I think they will be the main players.

Holy shit, Credence survived! And Jacob (my personal favorite character) will be back? That's good news, as I liked both of those characters.

Not only that, but Heyman confirmed what we already knew: that a young(er) Dumbledore will be a major part of the next four sequels. It also seems that he's instead going to be main thrust of this new series of films from this point forward (leading up to Grindelwald and Dumbledore's epic duel in '45). Unless it flops like XXX: STATE OF THE UNION, and they bring back Redmayne for the third one like a skinny, twitchy, Vin Diesel with hair. 

Now, I don't know about you guys, but focusing on Dumbledore gives me too much STAR WARS prequel anxiety. I mean, that series of films also ended with a major duel between main characters, one of which we had seen as a white-bearded mentor character in the series proper.

Then again, I actually enjoyed FANTASTIC BEASTS (I like the HARRY POTTER films, but was never a major fan). I just loved the noir-esque aesthetic (especially the magical speakeasy with a Goblin Ron Perlman) and the fact it focused on Magical G-Men in fedoras and leather trenchcoats. Admittedly, I wasn't as enthused by the "chasing magical animals in New York" plot, but even that had some nice, fun moments.

So, for those who have seen it, what do you think? And who would you cast as young Dumbledore?

FANTASTIC BEASTS 2 (SUBTITLE PENDING) will conjure up into theaters November 16th, 2018.