No one, not even the director of the franchise, David Yates, knew that “Fantastic Beasts” would last this long!
The Fantastic Beasts film franchise is a prequel to the Harry Potter saga designed by JK Rowling in the form of a series of five films following the adventures of Magizoologist Norbert Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) – who had already appeared in the saga Original Harry Potter – but no one except her knew so many films were planned.
Three installments have already been released, but the lackluster box office results of the third, Fantastic Beasts: Dumbledore’s Secret (2022), have left many fans wondering if the two additional films will become a reality. In a new interview with Total Film magazine (via Variety), David Yates speaks on the subject.
“With [Les Animaux Fantastiques], everything is simply parked. We made these three films, the last one during a pandemic, and it was extremely fun but it was difficult. In fact, we were filming when there was no vaccine. Fortunately, no one got sick but we had the most careful protocols in place.”
“We are all very proud [du film] and when it came out into the world we just needed to stop, take a break and take it easy“, he added.
The filmmaker, who directed the three films, with Rowling in writing (she was the only one to have written the screenplay for the first two films and was joined by Steven Kloves on the third), is a veteran of the Harry Potter universe having also directed all the films in the original saga, from The Order of the Phoenix and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.
But for Fantastic Beastshe just didn’t know there would be five films when he signed on for the first installment.
The idea that there would be five films was a surprise to most of us. Jo just mentioned it spontaneously, once during a press screening. No one told us there would be five, we committed to doing the first…
As for the rest, no news at the moment: “I’m sure at some point we’ll come back. But no, I didn’t talk to Jo, I didn’t talk to the [producteur] David Heyman, I haven’t spoken to Warner Bros: we’re just taking a break. It’s pretty nice. This allows me to do things like this…”
NEW PROJECT CURRENTLY ON NETFLIX
“Things like that” refers to the director’s latest film, the Netflix thriller Merchants of Pain. The film, which stars Chris Evans and Emily Blunt, was purchased by the streaming giant in a $50 million deal.
“After spending so long making movies about wizards, I wanted to make a movie that was set in the real world and focused on social issues, but wasn’t too serious and serious,” David Yates told Variety ahead of the film’s world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. “I wanted to tell an entertaining and funny story in a subversive way. I’m leaving the exalted world of JK Rowling but not going straight to the kitchen sink drama. The characters here are so exhilarating and crazy and the world is so intense.”
Merchants of Pain has been streaming on Netflix since October 27.