As has always been the plan, Fantastic Beasts 3 director David Yates is planning on helming all five entries in the franchise, according to star Katherine Waterston. Thanks to his experience with the original run of Harry Potter movies, Yates is very well-versed in the wizarding world, and while the Harry Potter franchise brought in a variety of different filmmakers for each installment, Yates is hoping to be the only one to guide the Fantastic Beasts franchise.
“I think he is meant to direct them all. I think it’s very interesting. He’s worked very closely with [franchise creator] J.K. Rowling for a long time and very few people have access to her because she’s quite insulated and so I can’t really imagine how it could work any other way frankly.”
Yates clearly loves working the world of Harry Potter, having directed the likes of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and both Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows parts one and two. While the two Fantastic Beasts have so far been met with a mixed response (particularly 2018’s sequel Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald), David Yates clearly has a vision for the continuing adventures of Newt Scamander, and it will be interesting to see how well he is able to realize it without the inclusion of any other directors.
So, it sounds like J.K. Rowling’s decision to keep herself “insulated” will indeed lead to Yates helming all five movies in the series which will end with Fantastic Beasts 4 and Fantastic Beasts 5. While Waterson, who plays female-lead Porpentina “Tina” Goldstein in the Fantastic Beasts series, notes how adept Yates is in the world of wizards and big, blockbuster moviemaking, she was quick to note that she was not quite as well-prepared for what she was getting involved in.
“I really didn’t know what I was getting into to be honest,” Waterston admitted. “I didn’t realize what a different thing a franchise is from a film, you know? The commitment, the duration of the shoot, the duration of the press tours, how much of your year it asks of you. And I think the things that sort of get me through it and really ground me in it are on set when you’re trying to tell the story it feels the same, thank God. Because if that wasn’t the case, I think I would feel completely out of place in that kind of environment because it is a very big machine. But ultimately the job’s, thankfully, still the same which is, can you connect with this person in this quiet moment.”
Production on Fantastic Beasts 3 was recently halted, with Warner Bros. forced to pause filming on upcoming wizarding world sequel after a crew member tested positive for COVID-19. Filming has been underway in the United Kingdom, and in keeping with the new health and safety regulations that are now in place, production will likely have to be shut down for at least two weeks. The positive test result was discovered as part of routine safety protocols, and the crew member is now in isolation.
While plot details for Fantastic Beasts 3 remain tightly under wraps, it is said to be a “build-up to World War II,” and will include an extensive role for star Dan Fogler’s muggle, Jacob Kowalski. “I have a lot to do in this one, which I’m really excited about,” Fogler revealed last year. He then went on to reveal that there are plans to make several more sequels before they’re through. “The whole thing is building up to – knock on wood – we get to do five movies here.”
Fantastic Beasts 3 stars Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander, Jude Law as Dumbledore, Mads Mikkelsen as Gellert Grindelwald, Ezra Miller as Credence, Alison Sudol as Queenie Goldstein, Dan Fogler as Jacob Kowalski, and Katherine Waterston as Tina Goldstein. Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling is penning the screenplay alongside Steve Kloves, with returning director David Yates at the helm. There is no word on whether this delay will cause the movie’s release date to be pushed back, so for now, Fantastic Beasts 3 is due to hit theaters on July 15th, 2022. This comes to us courtesy of Collider.