NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 10: Eddie Redmayne attends the "Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them" World Premiere at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center on November 10, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
Big news for all you Wizarding World of Harry Potter fans out there (which, let’s be honest, is most of us). The sequel to J.K. Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them has begun filming in the U.K. Principal photography of the as-of-yet untitled next installment began at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden outside London, where the Harry Potter films were shot. Huzzah!
More importantly, the studio let everyone in on a few new key plot details of the upcoming sequel, which will feature Eddie Redmayne’s return as Newt Scamander as he and others take on Gellert Grindelwal, the last-minute villain played by Johnny Depp.
It was previously announced that Jude Law would join the cast as a young Dumbledor, which is pretty cool. The sequel will take place in 1920s Paris, shortly after Scamander’s capture of Grindelwald at the end of the first movie.
But, you came for the new plot details, not a recap of the first movie. Per Warner Bros.:
“Grindelwald has made a dramatic escape and has been gathering more followers to his cause – elevating wizards above all non-magical beings. The only one who might be able to stop him is the wizard he once called his dearest friend, Albus Dumbledore. But Dumbledore will need help from the wizard who had thwarted Grindelwald once before, his former student Newt Scamander.”
Interesting. Dumbledore’s duel with Grindelwald is considered one of the most epic magical duels in the entire Wizarding world, so it will be pretty badass to (hopefully) see that on screen.
Other returning characters include: Tina (Katherine Waterston), Queenie (Alison Sudol) and Jacob (Dan Fogler). However, their attempt to stop Grindelwald will “test their loyalties as they face new perils in an increasingly dangerous and divided wizarding world.” Warner Bros. said. Callum Turner also comes back as Newt’s brother Theseus Scamander, and Credence, whose fate was unknown at the end of the first move, makes a return, played again by Ezra Miller.
Zoe Kravitz will be joining the cast as Leta Lestrange, who was seen briefly in the first film.
Though Fantastic Beasts received mixed reviews, it did pull in more than $800 million at the worldwide box office. The sequel, expected to drop in November 2018, will be the second film in a planned five-picture franchise.
