Warner Bros promised that it knew how to make the third movie better, but in the extended delay for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, the story behind the movies continued to be bigger than the movies themselves. Box office also took a significant dip to $655 million worldwide, the lowest in the entire Harry Potter series. Reviews were scathing (36% on Rotten Tomatoes) and it felt like it was two hours of setup for what's to come in the three sequels. The handling of Nagini's storyline was accused by some fans of being racially insensitive, while there was also criticism that Dumbledore's sexuality was effectively being kept in the closet.īut it wasn't just the storyline backlash that the sequel had to face. Rowling had defended the casting of Depp and he appeared as Grindelwald in the sequel.įantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald came out in November 2018, and faced a new wave of controversy over its content. Heard withdrew her request for a restraining order as the couple reached a settlement in their court case. Some fans were unhappy that Johnny Depp's role as Gellert Grindelwald wasn't recast for the sequel.ĭepp faced accusations of domestic violence, which he strongly denied, from his ex-wife Amber Heard during their divorce proceedings. However, cracks were already beginning to show in the Wizarding World. There was hope that with the foundation laid, the series could replicate the magic of the Harry Potter series and keep muggles entertained for years to come.

It was warmly received by the critics (74% on Rotten Tomatoes) and grossed $814 million worldwide. There might have been concern about how the story would stretch as long with only one Fantastic Beasts book, but the first movie got the series off to a solid start. Originally conceived as a trilogy, it was expanded to five movies shortly before the release of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Back in 2013, there was genuine excitement from Harry Potter fans that Rowling was returning to the Wizarding World to bring Fantastic Beasts to the screen.

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