A suddenly franchise-hungry Warner Bros. has finally spilled details on one of its three new film series. (The other two are DC's Justice League universe and The LEGO Movie sequel/spinoffs.)
We already knew that Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the Harry Potter spinoff with a screenplay being written by J.K. Rowling herself, is scheduled for November 18, 2016. It will be directed by David Yates, who helmed the last four Potter films.
Now WB has given release dates to the other two films in the trilogy, and they're pretty aggressive: 2018 and 2020. That's just two years apart for each part of the trilogy — and unlike The Hobbit, this is a series not expected to be filmed all at once.
But here's the real bombshell. Warner's CEO Kevin Tsujihara, speaking at the Time Warner investors meeting today, dropped two little words that could change the entire Fantastic Beasts plan. He said that the new Rowling series will be "at least a trilogy."
At least.
Was it a slip of the tongue? A red herring? An intentionally-planted hint meant to whip Potter fans into a frenzy?
Whatever it was, the implication is clear: should Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them be a success — and it almost certainly will be — Warner Bros. is prepared to keep it going for as long as audiences are willing to keep coming back.
Harry Potter's popularity has not waned in the slightest since the series ended. If anything, his star continues to rise, thanks to wildly popular ancillary endeavors like Universal Orlando's "Wizaring World of Harry Potter" theme park, and online portal Pottermore.com, where Rowling herself has been steadily expanding Potter lore by revealing new details that didn't make it into her books.
Business-wise, it's a smart move. But can the story sustain ongoing adventures?
Hard to say, since we don't yet know anything about the actual plot of Fantastic Beasts. The few details that have been given — magical creatures expert Newt Scamander is in New York City in the 1920s — give no hint as to what will happen in the films.
Here's hoping Rowling's story won't crumble under WB's money-grab.
