Warner Bros. Pictures confirmed Wednesday that the second movie in the “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” series is in the works, with J.K. Rowling writing the script. It is slated for worldwide release on Nov. 16, 2018.

David Yates, who directed the final four “Harry Potter” films and “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” will again take the helm. The new film will also reunite producers David Heyman, Rowling, Steve Kloves and Lionel Wigram. Rowling’s agent, Neil Blair, Rick Senat and Danny Cohen will serve as executive producers.

The second “Fantastic Beasts” movie “moves deeper into an increasingly dark time for the wizarding world, where Newt and our other heroes have to decide on their allegiances,” Warner Bros. said in a statement

Warner Bros. releases the first “Fantastic Beasts” film on Nov. 18. The third pic is expected to come out in November 2020.

Johnny Depp to Star in J.K. Rowling’s ‘Fantastic Beasts’ Sequel
Film Reporter @Variety_DMcNary
NOVEMBER 1, 2016 | 04:51PM PT

Johnny Depp will star in the sequel to upcoming “Harry Potter” spinoff “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.”

Warner Bros., the studio handling the film, is not revealing the role that Depp will play. He’s also appearing briefly in “Fantastic Beasts,” which opens Nov. 18 and stars Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander, with David Yates directing.

“Harry Potter” author and “Fantastic Beasts” screenwriter J.K. Rowling revealed on Oct. 13 at a fan event that she’s planning on five films for the franchise. Warner Bros. Pictures had announced in August that a second movie in the “Fantastic Beasts” series was already in the works with Redmayne as the lead.

Yates is also directing the sequel from a script by Rowling with David Heyman producing. Yates said at the fan event that the second film will take place in another global capital city — not the upcoming pic’s New York City setting. “It will be very different,” Yates, who directed the final four “Harry Potter” films, added.

The “Fantastic Beasts” sequel will be released on Nov. 16, 2018. Shooting will begin next year. Release dates for the third, fourth and fifth films have not yet been set.

Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Dan Fogler, Colin Farrell and Jon Voight also star in “Fantastic Beasts.” It has not been announced if any of them will be joining the sequel.

Depp recently switched his representation from UTA to CAA. Deadline Hollywood first reported the casting news.

Earlier today, I wondered if Johnny Depp’s inclusion in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them meant the series had found its young Grindelwald. Turns out it has, and we may have already seen the back of his head in one of the featurettes. I’m not thrilled about the prospect of following Depp around for five whole movies, but on the ever-so-slightly bright side, we do have confirmation that we are, in fact, in for a bit of a globetrot as the sequel heads to Paris.

The good folks at ScreenCrush have managed to get a hold of an unpublished article (via either a fan forum or some kind of powerful magic), confirming that the Yates-helmed Potter prequel, his sixth consecutive film in the franchise, will send Eddie Redmayne’s Newt Scamander to the city of love. Fans of the series’ extended materials, Pottermore in particular, will likely be familiar with Ilvermorny, the States-side equivalent of Hogwarts that’s more than likely to make an appearance in the series’ first installment. Could this mean the sequel will pay a visit to Beauxbatons from Goblet of Fire when it returns in 2018? I’d be willing to bet a Galleon or two, and since the series appears to follow Gridnelwald’s attacks across Europe, I wouldn’t be surprised if we eventually saw the Scandinavian Durmstrang, and a whole host of other yet-unnamed schools all over the continent.

American fans were thrilled to learn that their own wizarding world would end up on screen (two weeks from now in fact, when the first Fantastic Beasts finally arrives), and it’s nice to see they won’t be the only ones having the wishes of their eleven-year-old selves fulfilled. I know I’d like to see one of these take place in India someday, given how massive and ubiquitous the series was back home, but for the time being I’m willing to settle for a new European locale every two years, if that’s indeed the plan. The more the merrier.

Harry Potter was a truly global franchise, from its books to its movies and beyond, so I’m glad this is the direction it seems to be taking, even if it’s still a largely Caucasian direction for the time being, and one that involves Kevin Smith’s latest muse. Rowling has enough goodwill to warrant expectation of a fun and interesting expansion to her universe, one that’s on the cusp of its twentieth anniversary. For all we know, this could just be the half way point.

Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them takes place in the same universe – officially branded the Wizarding World – as screenwriter J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. However, it revolves around a previously tertiary character in Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) and his attempts to recapture a menagerie of legendary animals accidentally let loose in 1926 New York City; several decades prior to Harry’s battle against You-Know-Who.

Nevertheless, many fans have speculated that younger versions of well-known Harry Potter characters could well appear in either Fantastic Beasts and/or one of the four sequels that are now being planned by Rowling. Fantastic Beasts director David Yates (who will also helm the sequel) has now confirmed to Screen Rant that Albus Dumbledore will appear in the next Fantastic Beasts installment, and that casting for the role is underway.

Yates, when he spoke during the roundtable interviews at the Fantastic Beasts press junket, also formally confirmed that Newt will be returning in the Fantastic Beasts sequel. He teased that Dumbledore and Scamander will even have a handful of scenes together in the film:

“In the second movie Dumbledore comes back. He’s got a couple of good scenes with Newt… We’re discussing who would play Dumbledore, any suggestions would be good. [Laughs]”

Warner Bros. announced plans for a Fantastic Beasts trilogy written by Rowling before the first installment entered production. As mentioned, those plans have now been extended to five movies total. Early box office projections for Fantastic Beasts suggest the film ought to perform well enough to justify moving forward with the second film (currently scheduled for 2018). The exact details of the sequel’s storyline are not yet known, other than it “moves deeper into an increasingly dark time for the wizarding world.”

That “dark time for the wizarding world” is believed to to a reference to Gallert Grindelwald’s rise to power in the Wizarding World. Grindelwald, as a young man, was friends with Dumbledore (one whom Dumbledore was secretly in love with), before he became a powerful dark wizard later in his life. Rumor has it that Grindelwald is the character whom Johnny Depp has already been cast to play in the Fantastic Beasts sequel, but that remains unconfirmed at this stage.

If this rumor is accurate, then Fantastic Beasts 2 will presumably cast an an actor around Depp’s age (53 this year, though Depp often plays “younger”) to portray its young Dumbledore. Richard Harris portrayed Dumbledore in the first two Potter films before he passed away and Michael Gambon took over the role for the remaining movies in the series.

Jude Law to Play Young Dumbledore in 'Fantastic Beasts' Sequel
9:33 AM PDT 4/12/2017 by Ashley Lee

David Yates is returning to direct the followup.

Jude Law has been tapped to play a young Dumbledore in the sequel to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

David Yates is directing the followup to last year's Harry Potter spinoff starring Eddie Redmayne.

‘Fantastic Beasts 2’: Callum Turner to Play Eddie Redmayne’s Brother (EXCLUSIVE)
Justin Kroll Film Reporter @krolljvar
APRIL 21, 2017 | 11:00AM PT

“Green Room” star Callum Turner is in talks to play Newt Scamander’s brother in the next installment of Warner Bros.’ “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.”

Eddie Redmayne will return to the sequel as Scamander. Jude Law is on board to play young Dumbledore, and Johnny Depp is attached to play Grindelwald. David Yates is returning to direct.

Rowling, who made her screenwriting debut on “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” has also written the script for the second installment. The film is set in an increasingly dark time for the Wizarding World where Newt Scamander and company have to decide on their allegiances.


Plot details are unknown at this time other than the film being set in Paris.

The first movie in the planned five-part “Fantastic Beasts” series grossed more than $813 million at the box office.

The sequel, which begins production this summer, also reunites producers Rowling, David Heyman, Steve Kloves and Lionel Wigram. Neil Blair, Rick Senat and Danny Cohen are serving as executive producers.

After a breakout role in the A24 thriller “Green Room,” Turner followed up with a critically acclaimed performance in Adam Leon’s “Tramps,” which bowed at the Toronto Film Festival. He has since landed the lead in Marc Webb’s “The Only Living Boy in New York” opposite Jeff Bridges, which opens in August.

Turner is repped by WME and Curtis Brown Group. “Fantastic Beasts 2” hits theaters on Nov. 16, 2018.

The next installment in J.K. Rowling’s “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” series has started shooting in the U.K. Principal photography on the as-yet-untitled movie started Monday at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden outside London, where the Harry Potter movies were shot.

The studio offered new details of the upcoming film, which will see Eddie Redmayne return as magical beasts lover Newt Scamander to take on Gellert Grindelwald, the dark wizard played by Johnny Depp, who was unmasked at the end of the first movie.

Jude Law will star as future Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore in the film, a younger version of the character originally played by the late Richard Harris and Michael Gambon in the Harry Potter films. The sequel moves the main action to 1920s Paris, shortly after Scamander’s capture of Grindelwald at the end of the first installment.

Warner Bros. revealed that “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. But Dumbledore will need help from the wizard who had thwarted Grindelwald once before, his former student Newt Scamander.”

Returning for the sequel are the characters Tina (Katherine Waterston), Queenie (Alison Sudol), and Jacob (Dan Fogler). But the effort to stop Grindelwald will “test their loyalties as they face new perils in an increasingly dangerous and divided wizarding world,” Warner Bros. said. Callum Turner also comes back as Newt’s brother Theseus Scamander, and Credence, whose fate was unknown at the end of the first move, makes a return, played again by Ezra Miller.

Zoe Kravitz will play new character Leta Lestrange, a fleeting glimpse of whom appeared in the first film, and Claudia Kim will also star as a young woman introduced in the film as an attraction at a wizarding circus.

The screenplay was written by Rowling, as with the first installment. David Yates returns to direct. Rowling, David Heyman, Steve Kloves, and Lionel Wigram will produce the new film with Neil Blair, Rick Senat, and Danny Cohen as the executive producers.

Other cast members include William Nadylam as a wizard named Yusuf Kama; Ingvar Sigurdsson as a bounty hunter named Grimmson; Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as Skender, who runs the wizarding circus; and Kevin Guthrie as Abernathy, who appears at MACUSA (Magical Congress of the USA).

The first “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” grossed more than $800 million globally. The new movie is expected to launch in November 2018 and will be the second in a planned five-film franchise.

OCTOBER 06, 2017 9:11am PT by Ashley Lee, Aaron Couch
Jessica Williams Joins 'Fantastic Beasts' Sequel

Brontis Jodorowsky has also been cast as the character Nicolas Flamel.

Jessica Williams has joined Warner Bros.' sequel Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2.

Brontis Jodorowsky, Fiona Glascott, Wolf Roth, Victoria Yeates, Derek Riddell, Poppy Corby-Tuech and Cornell S John have also signed on for the follow-up, it was announced on Pottermore.

David Yates, who also helmed four Harry Potter installments, is returning to direct the second film of the Harry Potter prequel series, which is planned to span five movies and feature screenplays by author J.K. Rowling. The first film was released in November 2016 and grossed $814 million worldwide.

Eddie Redmayne — who stars in the series as a 1920s magizoologist named Newt Scamander — Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Dan Fogler, Carmen Ejogo and Johnny Depp will reprise their roles in the sequel. The previously announced additions include Jude Law as a young Albus Dumbledore, Callum Turner as Newt's brother Theseus and Zoe Kravitz as Leta Lestrange, who was introduced in the first film via a photograph.

The newly announced roles of Williams — a breakout of The Daily Show With Jon Stewart who starred in the Netflix film The Incredible Jessica James — and Glascott have not yet been revealed, but Jodorowsky will play Nicolas Flamel, an alchemist originally mentioned in the original Harry Potter books and films.

Roth will play a character called Spielman; Call the Midwife star Yeates is playing Bunty; Derek Riddell will play Torquil Travers; Poppy Corby-Tuech is playing Rosier; and Cornell S John is stepping into the shoes of Arnold Guzman. The names "Travers" and "Rosier" stand out, as they turn up in the Harry Potter series and belong to two Death Eaters who served Lord Voldemort.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2 is set for release Nov. 16, 2018. Williams is represented by UTA and B Company.

It’s official: The Fantastic Beasts franchise is almost entirely ditching America for the sequel.

We asked executive producer David Heyman about conflicting reports online regarding the setting of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. We know the film has scenes in New York (which were introduced in the first film), London (which we’ve seen in Potter films), and Paris (which we’ve never yet seen in the franchise). But there’s been some confusion about how much of the film is set where.

“[The film] almost entirely takes place in Paris,” Heyman confirms.

So there you have it. Surely some Beauxbatons graduates will be around.

Previously, Heyman explained why the next film will be even better than the first.

To read more on Fantastic Beasts, pick up the new issue on stands Monday. Don’t forget to subscribe for more exclusive interviews and photos, only in EW.

“We delve deeper into [J.K. Rowling’s] wizarding world — we’re in Paris, we’re in London and New York — the world is expanding,” Heyman says. “As you can tell from the [cast photo], we’re following quite a few characters. The new film has a very different feel than the first. It’s got a thriller quality. And it’s also a story about love and passion and all its forms — paternal, romantic, political. And it’s just a thrilling and very fun adventure. We took all we’ve learned from one and just expanded that and created a richer, deeper and more thrilling film which I’m excited to be a part of.”

Last Thursday, Warner Bros. revealed several new character details and images from the film, which the second of five planned titles written by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. See our complete breakdown of all the new images and intel. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald opens Nov. 16, 2018.