Fantastic Beasts 3 Star on Rumors the Sequel Adds More Harry Potter Characters

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them star Dan Fogler addresses rumors the untitled third movie will include more Harry Potter characters after the spinoff franchise's second installment, Crimes of Grindelwald, returned to Hogwarts with a younger Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law). Scripted by author J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter franchise scribe Steve Kloves, Fantastic Beasts 3 is believed to bring the Wizarding World franchise to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in the 1930s. According to rumors, the third installment could see the return of a younger Tom Riddle and half-giant Rubeus Hagrid, who attended Hogwarts in the early 1940s before becoming its gamekeeper.

Asked about the rumored return of Hagrid in Fantastic Beasts 3, Fogler told The Movie Dweeb, "There could be that Hagrid crossover, which would be very interesting. Is that what people are saying? I didn't know that."

"I always thought about that, because I love Hagrid. Who doesn't love Hagrid?" Fogler added before proposing that his character, muggle Jacob Kowalski, becomes Hagrid's adopted father.

"[Hagrid's mother Fridwulfa] is there and she comes to Newt and she's like, 'I have my baby boy, can you take care of him?' And Newt is like, 'Well, I'm a little busy.' And there's me, 'Alright, I'll take care of this giant kid,'" Fogler said with a laugh. "I thought that would be a fun connection there."

Because Magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) hails from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Fogler speculates famed Hogwarts staff or even its future students could appear through time-traveling magic seen in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

"With the whole Time-Turner thing, you could really have anybody show up," Fogler said of the magic time travel device. "Hermoine pops in by accident or something, some kind of Easter egg."

Robbie Coltrane portrayed Hagrid in all eight Harry Potter movies, taking place decades after the events of Fantastic Beasts. In this next sequel from franchise veteran David Yates, there's a "build-up to World War II."

"I have a lot to do in this one, which I'm really excited about," Fogler said. "The whole thing is building up to — knock on wood — we get to do five movies here."

Also starring Ezra Miller, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, and Johnny Depp, Warner Bros. Pictures opens Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 3 in theaters on November 12, 2021.