‘Fantastic Beasts’: JK Rowling Teases What’s Next for Harry Potter Prequel Series

With Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald set to release in November, writer JK Rowling is offering some early hints about where the Harry Potter prequel series could go next.

For starters, Rowling assures fans that she has a roadmap in place for where these characters are going and that there may be a surprising and familiar character in the next release.

“As with the Harry Potter books, it is all mapped out,” Rowling told Entertainment Weekly. “In fact, when we announced the five films, I talked about that. It’s always possible that some details will change along the way, but the arc of the story is there. It’s been an amazing opportunity to tell parts of the backstory that never made it into the original books. I’m thinking particularly of one character that I think fans will be surprised to meet in this movie.”

Rowling teased that the third film in the series may take viewers to some unfamiliar locales.

“It’s far too early to spoil anything,” Rowling said. “What I can say is that we’ll go to at least one new city in the next film, possibly two, and I’m keen to move outside Europe and North America. But you’ll just have to wait and see.”

Star Eddie Redmayne has similarly teased that the Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald has plenty of surprises and connections for Harry Potter fans.

“The script is labyrinthian,” the actor said. “It’s like you’re going down this maze and Jo [Rowling] is weaving the stories together with such intricacy. Along the way, these connections to Harry Potter and secrets are falling at your feet.

“There is one… I got to the end and my jaw dropped. There was one thing I didn’t see coming.”

One such surprising connection is that Claudia Kim is playing Nagini, Lord Voldemort’s snake who we now know was a Maledictus.

Star Dan Fogler has teased that the second film in the series is much darker than the first.

“It reminds me a lot of The Empire Strikes Back,” Fogler said. “The first movie is so positive. It’s sweet and lovely. But this time everybody is really put under fire. People are gonna see this like a 100 times just to get everything. They’re going to be going nuts that they have to wait for the next one.”

Are you excited about Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald? Let us know in the comments!

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald opens in theaters on November 16th. Its sequel will follow on November 20, 2020.