Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore opens in theaters this weekend, but could it be the last film in the franchise? A new report by Variety says that Warner Bros. has yet to green light Fantastic Beasts 4, which raises several questions about the future of the series. While WB has not commented on the fate of Fantastic Beasts, it’s believed that the studio is waiting to see the box office returns for The Secrets of Dumbledore before continuing the adventures of Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) and his wizarding compatriots.
While Warner Bros. would love for the Fantastic Beasts franchise to perform like the Harry Potter films, it hasn’t happened. In addition to fans’ tepid reactions to the first two films (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald), the Fantastic films have been plagued by controversy. The latest in a long line of missteps for the franchise is the arrest of Ezra Miller, who was recently brought up on charges of disorderly conduct and harassment. These charges are in addition to the actor appearing to choke a woman outside a bar in Iceland. Add to this the actions of Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts creator J.K. Rowling, whose repeated comments against transgender women have revealed her to be an ongoing problem for the studio.
Due to her beliefs about transgender women, Rowling has experienced a fall from grace in the eyes of many Harry Potter fans. The situation has become so toxic that Rowling is all-but-absent from the promotional lead-up to the release of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. Her actions have also placed the films’ stars in a compromising position, as they are contractually obligated not to comment on the ongoing controversy.
When you look at these issues head-on, then add the firing of Johnny Depp, who Mads Mikkelsen replaced for the role of Gellert Grindelwald, screenplay rewrites, Covid-19 delays, the film being banned in certain territories, and a general lack of interest in the prequel series from fans, you start to wonder if it’s all worth the trouble.
“This is their Star Wars franchise. You expect more,” says Exhibitor Relations analyst Jeff Bock. They’re not wrong, and unless WB can quell the controversies that are doing the franchise harm, they could have one of the most expensive missteps in Hollywood history on their hands.
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore has made $58 million at the international box office, but analysts expect the sequel will have the lowest amount of opening weekend returns in the franchise’s history. None of this bodes well for Fantastic Beasts overall, which would be a real shame when you consider the legacy of the Harry Potter franchise and how at one point, the name was synonymous with enchantment, imagination, and something to aspire to for up-and-coming creators.
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