Although the third film in the series premiered in July, Fantastic Beasts 4 is reportedly not in development at Warner Bros. Fantastic Beasts is a spin-off film series from the Harry Potter franchise, which acts as a prequel to the original films that tell the story of magizoologist Newt Scamander as he becomes embroiled in the impending war between Dumbledore and Grindelwald. The first film in the series premiered in 2016, with the sequel, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald debuts in 2018. While the Fantastic Beasts series has received critical acclaim for its production design and visual effects, the films have all received mixed to poor reviews from fans and critics alike.
In October 2016, shortly before the release of the first Fantastic Beasts movie, Harry Potter author JK Rowling announced that the spin-off series would consist of five films, set between 1926 and 1945. Fantastic Beasts series has not only performed poorly since its inception, but has also been plagued by controversy. Ezra Miller, who starred as Credence Barebone, has been the subject of several legal controversies in the past year, including charges of burglary, disorderly conduct and harassment, while Johnny Depp, who played Fantastic Beastsantagonist Grindelwald, was forced to leave the series after his volatile public trial with his ex-wife Amber Heard. Depp was replaced by Mads Mikkelsen in the third film, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. Rowling herself has also received serious public reactions for her openly anti-transvisions. As a result, executives at Warner Bros. in April they waited to see how Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore implemented before the fourth and fifth tranches were given the green light.
From now, Variety reported that Fantastic Beasts 4 is not currently under development. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav says there is potential to work with Rowling on the future Harry Potter projects, but a studio source confirmed there are no active discussions about the future Harry Potter or Fantastic Beasts movies right now. It is currently unclear when and if Fantastic Beasts 4 will continue to be developed.
What Could Fantastic Beasts 4’s Story Have Been?
This summer, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore premiered to a mixed reception, with the film receiving a 46 percent approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Although the Fantastic Beasts series performs relatively poorly compared to Harry Potter, there is still enough interest in the spin-off from fans to make further sequels. Of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore Wrapping up Credence’s arc and seeing Dumbledore and Grindelwald finally face off, the third film brought to a close many key plot points from the series, leaving many wondering what a potential Fantastic Beasts 4 could explore. While there are certainly more conflicts to discover in the wizarding world, such as a full-scale magic war, some fans would rather see Fantastic Beasts remain a trilogy.
Although Rowling initially called for a series of five films to be made, Warner Bros. in no way predicting all the controversies that would befall the franchise. Fantastic Beasts 4the prospects in doubt. While some critics and fans attribute the series’ poor performance to poor writing and concept, there’s no doubt that controversy played a big part in the spin-off’s success. While Miller and Depp are no longer part of the… Fantastic Beasts Rowling’s damaging anti-trans commentary continues to alienate previously loyal fans of the franchise, leaving the franchise’s fate currently unknown.
Source: Variety
