In June 2015
Eddie Redmayne was cast in the lead role of
Newt Scamander, the Wizarding World's preeminent magi
zoologist. Other cast members include:
Katherine Waterston as
Tina Goldstein,
Alison Sudol as Queenie Goldstein,
Dan Fogler as Jacob Kowalski,
Ezra Miller as
Credence Barebone,
Samantha Morton as Mary Lou,
Jenn Murray as Chastity Barebone, Faith Wood-Blagrove as Modesty Barebone, and
Colin Farrell as
Percival Graves / Gellert Grindelwald. Principal photography began on 17 August 2015, at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden. After two months, the production moved to
St George's Hall in Liverpool, which was transformed into 1920s New York City.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was released worldwide on 18 November 2016. The second film was announced in March 2014. In November 2016, it was confirmed that
Johnny Depp would have a starring role in the sequel, reprising his cameo role as
Gellert Grindelwald from the first instalment, replacing Farrell. Later that same month, it was also announced that
Albus Dumbledore would be appearing in future instalments, albeit with a younger actor for the prequel film series, intended to eventually replace Redmayne's Scamander as
protagonist of the series. In April 2017, it was confirmed that
Jude Law had been cast as Dumbledore with the film being short and set in
New York City, Britain, and Paris. Principal photography began on 3 July 2017, at
Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden, and wrapped on 20 December 2017, with
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald releasing on 16 November 2018. Originally scheduled to begin filming in July 2019, and released in November 2020, production of the third film was pushed back to late 2019 to allow more time polishing the script and re-plan the future of the
Fantastic Beasts series. In 2018 on
Twitter, Rowling promised that the third film would give answers to the questions left unsolved in the first two. In October 2019, Dan Fogler claimed that principal photography on the third film would begin in February 2020. In November 2019, it was announced that the script had been written by both Rowling and
Steve Kloves, the latter of whom returned after being absent as a writer on the first two. On 16 March 2020, the very day that principal photography would begin, the
COVID-19 pandemic prompted Warner Bros to postpone production of its third
Fantastic Beasts film. This postponed the film again, from a 12 November 2021 to a 15 July 2022 release. On 20 August 2020, filming was confirmed to start in September. On 20 September 2020, Eddie Redmayne confirmed that filming was two weeks underway with safety precautions in place to keep the cast and crew safe from COVID-19. On 6 November 2020,
Johnny Depp informed that Warner Bros. asked him to step down as Grindelwald; after shooting three scenes for the film, due to negative publicity resulting from the libel case
Depp v News Group Newspapers Ltd, and he respected and agreed to the request. Later, on 25 November 2020, it was announced that
Mads Mikkelsen would replace Depp in the role of Grindelwald. On 3 February 2021, filming in the UK was shut down after a production member tested positive for COVID-19. Composer
James Newton Howard confirmed later that month that production had wrapped filming. In September 2021, the film's release was pushed forward three months to 15 April 2022, alongside the announcement of the full title:
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. It premiered one week early in a few European and Asian countries. ==Films==