Good News For The FANTASTIC BEASTS Sequels: Newt Scamander Won’t Always Be The Focus

From the moment the curtain started rolling back and we learned more about the nature of this series, one thing became painfully clear: the “Fantastic Beasts” conceit was hiding a larger, more important story. We’ve already seen how uninteresting the adventures of Eddie Redmayne are; Fantastic Beasts is… not very good, but there’s a better movie hiding inside of it. And, as luck would have it, the series’ arc will soon bend in the direction of that better movie, as Newt “Doctor Who Meets Ash Ketchum” Scamander will take more of a back seat. Hallelujah.

A part of this news feels like one of those “spoilers” that only seems like a spoiler if you’ve seen the film, but I’ll throw up the Spoiler Warning regardless. In an exchange with Cinemablend, here’s what producer David Heyman had to say about the future installments:

“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 -- will be part of the next one.”

And I've heard that Dumbledore has been confirmed, too.

“And Credence and Grindelwald. I think they will be the main players.”

There you have it. As expected, Dumbledore and Grindelwald will lead the series as we get closer to World War II, with characters like Tina, Queenie and Jacob Kowalski (who I’ve softened on since watching the film) set to return in Part 2, however my favourite part of this news is the return of Ezra Miller’s Credence. While it was hinted at towards the end of the first film, it didn’t seem entirely certain, but I’m more than pleased with this decision.

Less pleased with the Grindelwald part, after Johnny Depp’s Mad Hatter-esque cameo, but I can live with it. It’ll be strange to see them stick with the “Fantastic Beasts and…” title format as the author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them slips into the background, but you have to break a few dragon eggs if you want to make a good omelet. The sequel arrives November 2018.