It’s no secret that the first two installments in the Harry Potter prequel franchise, Fantastic Beasts, has been less than fantastic.
While the first film, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, was fairly well received by critics and audiences alike, it’s sequel, The Crimes of Grindelwald, fared much worse. It also didn’t help that the two films failed to match the box office of any of the Harry Potter films, with Crimes falling well below its predecessor.
Because of these factors, excitement for the third installment has dwindled greatly, but I’m here to tell you to not lose hope!
Recollect your hope for the future of this franchise. Have some confidence that they could maybe even surpass some of the original films in terms of quality. Here’s why…
What Went Wrong Before?
What went wrong before? Well, to put it frankly: J.K. Rowling.
Don’t get me wrong! I love her incredible imagination as much as the next person (so this definitely isn’t a dig on her), but I’d be delirious not to recognize she is one of the key problems of this particular franchise.
J.K. Rowling is an amazingly talented author, which is the issue. She writes books, not screenplays. These first two films were in fact the first two screenplays she’s ever written…and it shows.
These films, specifically the second one, suffer greatly from this lack of experience. The plot and character development, while shining in some spots, was severely underdeveloped. They were also so bogged down in exposition and set-ups for future films that it forgets to tell its own story at times.
For a franchise as huge as this, it helps to have someone of a bit more experienced penning the script, which is exactly what’s about to change.
Why This Time is Different
Warner Bros. has brought back Steve Kloves to co-write the third film alongside Rowling! (Yes, that’s the main reason you’ve been waiting to read.)
If you’re unfamiliar with Kloves, he was the screenwriter for every Harry Potter film, excluding Order of the Phoenix. Bringing back this familiar face should give fans hope, yet there hasn’t been much excitement at all.
This is especially gratifying as Kloves might be the key reason why the Harry Potter franchise worked so well in the first place. This only becomes all the more obvious since his departure.
He has such a well-rounded understanding of the lore, plus he’s simply a talented screenwriter. Combine all of that with Rowling’s superb creativity and this film could actually end up exceeding that of the originals, especially considering the fact that they get to write completely original stories together.
With David Yates (Director of Harry Potter 5-8) back directing, and the writing talent of both Kloves and Rowling, Warner Bros. has assembled a super team of filmmakers to fix this franchise moving forward.
A Fantastic Rebirth?
After the downward trend the Fantastic Beasts franchise has experienced, Warner Bros. has done a great job trying to save the franchise before the situation gets any worse.
While the upcoming installment hasn’t even begun filming yet, everything that has already been revealed only given us reason to hope for the best. Besides the talent that continues to be assembled behind the scenes, as well as its star-studded cast, the story alone has so much potential as it tells grand backstory of Dumbledore and Grindlewald’s infamous face-off.
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