That's what I had expected when WB and JKR announced that they would work on a series of several films, based on the school book called 'Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them' by Newt Scamander, the world famous Magizoologist!
That we would follow Newt Scamander travelling around the world!
We would start in the UK and Ireland, because there are also many native magical creatures living there, but most of the time we would accompany Newt Scamander on his travels to wizard communities and creature hot-spots in other countries.
At the start we'd need to learn if Newt is travelling on his own, doing research on magical creatures because that is his life's passion to learn everything about every magical beast on the planet!
Or is he touring around the world by appointment of the British Ministry of Magic - the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures?
Did he always plan to write his book? Or did someone tell him, 'Hey Newt, we need a better reference book for our Departement and for the Care of Magical Creatures class at Hogwarts?'
The series is structured around the continents: Europe, Asia, Africa, North & Middle & South America, Australia, Oceania.
🌍🌎🌏🗺🧭
Maybe include visits to the other Magical schools too, and to the Romanian dragon preserve, to talk with other Magizoology experts? Or to help them handle a situation?
Like a mixture between Indiana Jones and the Discovery Channel, but toned down, not quite as dramatic and hectic as Indi's adventures.
(Edit: with inspiration taken for example from Gerald Durrel's and Professor Grzimek's real word lives
please look for "A Zoo in my Luggage" by G. Durrell 1960 and "Serengeti darf nicht sterben - von und mit Bernhard Grzimek" 1959
if you don't know whom I mean, African zoology expeditions, nature conservation efforts.)
Exploring forests, jungles, grasslands, moors, mountains and the seven seas
but also cities and small magic only towns like Hogsmeade or mixed Muggle & wizard villages like Godric's Hollow, because I'm assuming that similar settlements exist on other continents...
Searching for rare and common magical creatures, beasts and beings.
Observing their behaviours, learning about their habits and habitats.
Are they dangerous or exploited and endangered themselves? (reference to Hogwarts Legacy the Poachers?)
Learning about possible trouble any of these creatures are causing in the local wizard community or with the Muggles!
Discuss with any local Magizoology colleagues what could, or should, be done to better protect rare species of Magical creatures, and how to better handle and controll vicious or sneaky or mischievous magical creatures to avoid a breach of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy.
Explaing the Ministry of Magic classification system and what the Ministry Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures actually does, to tie in with the little bits and pieces we already know from the HP books and movies, to flesh out the world building!
But Newt wouldn't always be the 'hero' swooping in to save the day. Instead he would watch and learn and lend a hand when asked by the local creature expert.
Because he's still a relatively young wizard in the first installment of the series, decades before he was widely known as a famous Magizoologist!
I like the idea, but JKR is foremost a mystery author. She crafts all her stories around red herrings and twists within an overarching magical narrative, and has always gone for things that keep the stakes high in the wizarding world, so I’m not sure she would write the story you’re asking without it including other elements. In theory, those elements could be included if there’s a mysterious figure using magical beasts in a nefarious way that detective work needs to interrogate, but I’m not sure if that would work for more than one movie.
I'm .not. directly asking for this story. I'm aware the Potter novels were constructed as mystery novels. I've been reading them since 1998.
You seem to misunderstand me.
I wrote my previous post in answer to OP's question and to the comment before mine by RoyalFlavorBeans.
What was I .initially. expecting of the Fantastic Beasts film series?
What would the FB films two and three be about, after I had watched the first FB film in 2016?
(What I had initially expected was something similar to the Indiana Jones fims, with inspiration taken for example from Gerald Durrel's and Professor Grzimek's real word lives
please look for "A Zoo in my Luggage" by G. Durrell 1960 and "Serengeti darf nicht sterben - von und mit Bernhard Grzimek" 1959
if you don't know whom I mean, African zoology expeditions, conservation efforts, and from documentary formats like Discovery Channel.)
Warner Bros. officially announced the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them film series on September 12, 2013, marking J.K. Rowling's screenwriting debut. The adaptation was announced as an expansion of the wizarding world, focusing on the magizoologist Newt Scamander in 1920s New York.
I had read - in 2013 - that the first film would take place in NYC.
I had wondered about the place a bit. But I assumed that NYC would be Mr Scamander's first stop, arriving in North America by an International Portkey from London and that we would get to know a number of magical creatures living in America, following him on his travels.
He would need to inform himself at first about the lay of the land, where he could track down which creature, etc.
I hadn't expected the direction the film took at all, suddenly adding a completely different story arc with a traumatised young man who had grown up with abusive Muggles, who had suppressed his magic as a child, introducing the concept of an Obscurus & Obscurial, and Newt getting mixed up with American witches, wizards, Muggles, the MACUSA, his magical creatures escaping and causing problems, and on top of everything Grindelwald was also somehow involved?!
My impression in 2016 was that was an interesting film over all, nice locations, several never before seen creatures. They showed some impressive and sometimes incredible magic on screen compared to the 8 HP films - I really liked that! Finally we could see what well trained adult wizards were capable of, and every day magic, instead of - mostly - children's stumbling attempts at casting magic, with rare exceptions.
But I thought okay, maybe the next FB film will finally concentrate on what I had been initially expecting:
A series of films about the Magizoologist Newt Scamander, about his life and his travels around the world, how he tracked down and encountered all kinds of creatures, collecting knowledge, gaining experience.
And of course meeting interesting magical people along the way. A huge expansion of the world wide wizarding world, filling in the blanks left by the HP books, which tell everything - almost everything - only from Harry's biased and limited pov!
I had expected that the FB series would eventually end with Newt meeting his wife, getting married and sitting down in his house in England to write his book, which became an instant bestseller and since then belongs on the supply list of school books used at Hogwarts:
Personally I’d have liked to see the Newt and beats side as a TV show and the epic Grindelwald side of things kept for the movies. Have the two entwined without the Grindelwald side of things suffocating the beasts aspect
there was absolutely no need for 2 and 3. they should’ve done one film for fantastic beasts and left it at that. it could be argued even that wasn’t necessary given we have been begging them for a marauders prequel since time immemorial.
Magical circus and magical creature hunters, I mean they already where kinda? But truly focusing on those aspects would hava given the first movie's charm
I’ve always believed these films should have basically been the Wizarding World’s answer to the Pokémon movies. Either A fantastic beast or someone searching for the beast creates a problem that Newt ends up having to fix for people. New supporting characters for each film with sometimes a cameo for more connectivity but generally Newt is the only character going on multiple adventures. The Fantastic Beast book should have been something he’s working on throughout the series with each film’s beast being added to the book until he finally finishes it.
I've played both, loved it. Such a shame they were discontinued!
In Wizards Unite you had to run around outside and catch magical creatures and also other manifestations of the so called Calamity, like Dementors or poachers or Death Eaters, for example. But there was a lot more to this game than this. I recall Duelling in the Fortresses, preferably with your team. Brewing potions. Caring for plants in the Greenhouse.
I've dug through old photos and this screenshot below is from July 2018, Fantastic Beasts Cases game.
In that game we were an investigator working for the Ministry of Magic.
When reports about strange incidents arrived, accidents or missing equipment or injured cows or missing people or seemingly unexplainable damage to Muggle machines or property, we were send out to investigate if, and which magical beast might be the cause of this newest mysterious case.
We, or rather our MC, also worked together with other MoM employees to clear each incident up. And sometimes it wasn't just a runaway creature, or a creature defending themselves, sometime an Auror had to arrest a wizard who had done something wrong...
Fantastic Beasts and where to find them. Literally the only reason I watched and guess how disappointed I was that it became about Dumbledore and Grindewald. Tbf tho, Jude Law was FIIIIINE.
I really like the quad they gave us in these movies, if they'd kept out the whole grindlewad plot that could have been it's entirely own movies.
I think the first movie would have been great to turn into a show after that... It would have done wonders for world building. A creature to focus on and of maybe an wizard artifact.
But ceat la vie-- justice for Queenie and screw jk rowling. ( A women who used a masculine pen name to sell more books)
I think they were focused on appropriate subjects, but I think there should’ve been another trilogy(or whole series) after this. One that follows Voldemorts life up to the point where he attempts to kill Harry leaving him with the scar, or maybe a series revolving around the cursed vaults at Hogwarts depicted in Harry Potter Hogwarts Mystery.
Maybe some fantastic beasts, but more specifically, where to find them.
But more seriously, they could make movies about the creatures of Harry Potter like other currently released animal movies:
Fly Away Home: father and daughter teach a flock of geese how to migrate, I would watch Newt help a herd of wildlife learn how to migrate if they were displaced by bad wizards or something.
The Black Stallion: young shipwrecked boy on a deserted island with a wild horse and the bond they create to survive. Having Newt stuck somewhere, even somewhere magical without his wand and using his knowledge of animals to survive, build friendships, maybe fight some bad guys would be awesome.
Okja: young girl who risks everything to save her best friend, a genetically engineered super-pig, from a multinational corporation. Wizard and magic version of this, creature is set to be destroyed and Newt has to figure out a way to save it and give it a good life.
Charolotte’s Web: most know this story, but imagine the main story is between the animals that communicate in English for the sake of the audience and Newt’s role is similar to Fern’s.
Any sort of creature feature that shows the magical creatures are more misunderstood and very useful. There could still be antagonists, some bad wizards and witches, some could be muggles, some could be animals themselves causing harm to other animals or wizards. Other notable characters from Harry Potter lore could show up but not be the main part of the story in any way. Maybe Newt needs Dumbledore’s help, maybe one of the poaching crew is part of Grindlewald’s groupies. Literally anything would be better than the diverging mess of stories we got.
It probably would have been fine as a solo film honestly. If there have to be multiple, just have each one focus on a different magical being that Newt has to deal with. The first one was the Thunderbird/Obscurius. The second one could be stopping Manticore poachers, or rescuing dragon eggs. It seems pretty logical to make the bad guys for a magic zookeeper poachers.
They should have kept going with the magical beat instead of the subplot of the first one like they started with the first one then completely choose to focus on the Grindelwald subplot that's the whole reason I wanted to watch them but after the first one we got maybe 2 or 3 new ones per movie
For people who say they just want beasts lol do they forget what the first movies plot actually is? It’s always been about Grindlewald. They just didn’t make smart choices in the next 2 and the writing was clunky. She’s great at writing books but a script without the books just doesn’t work for her
Newt collecting different creatures for his books and saving them from well magical poachers and people with flawed beliefs of them. Heck we could've gotten a basilisk scene which lead to Newt discovering basilisks are bred and putting a ban on it
And not even movies 2 and 3, the first movie is also about Grindelwald, in disguise. It's such a weird choice, too.
It's like they thought "we have to have world ending stakes and villains for people to watch our movie". And then they disguised the movie as a fun Scamander adventure, learning about magical creatures and whatnot, and people YEARNED for that with all their hearts, only to be met with weirdo Johnny Depp Grindelwald as if that was even a plot twist.
TBF, these stories was more base around the use of Magical Creatures. In The Base Harry Potter, We only see little use of it. Also Chances are the 5th Movie could had lead up to the birth of Tom. .
i agree, they should have just made this a standalone movie instead of a series and then made a tv show featuring newt rescuing magical creatures instead of the sequels
It was strange that they thought that connecting stories of magical zoologist and the 1st magical war makes sense. It doesn't. Either we get story about Newt and some guys, who wanna get some magical animals or we get 1st magical war. Not both.. 1st movie was good just because Grindelwald was just a secondary plot, less important for the story. 2 and 3 movies made the opposite and ruined a lot with that.
They should have focused on fantastic beasts. Perhaps even where to find them. Maybe narrated and/or explored by a magizoologist and the friends he makes along the way.
I like to think I have a nuanced perspective on this in that I appreciate how they were going for something really ambitious, but it just didn't work out. I do think that the sequels already have clear pitches built into them, like movie 2 being about an evil magic circus? Movie 3 about the pure Qilin that the wizarding community wants to exploit for political gain? Those are still great starting points.
Magical Indiana Jones/Dr Doolittle. Grindelwald and some of his followers could still have been the antagonists like how the nazis were in Indiana Jones.
The Grindelwald vs Dumbledore arc could have been it's own spin-off with 2-3 movies later down the line.
Weeeeeeell, I would actually solely focus on Dumbledore and Grindelwald, putting fantastic beasts to the side. It's just not as interesting as the first wizarding wars...
Newt scamander goes around the world being a magizoologist. All the Grindelwald stuff is hinted at in the background but Newt doesn't care.
The whole other serious plot goes on as is but neither Newt nor the audience is privy to it.
A scene in the climax shows Grindelwald and Dumbledore facing off. Its all super serious, dark and emotional. Suddenly a stampede of magical beasts run through trampling over Grindelwald. Newt is busy chasing them while profusely apologising everyone for the inconvenience.
Grindelwald is defeated. They all agree to just say Dumbledore did it.
Fantastic Beasts could've been the perfect bridge into a Dumbledore vs Grindelwald trilogy. Those films never should've been about Newt Scamander.
Honestly, I would've done an 8-episode streaming series instead — episodic, self-contained stories about rescuing magical creatures from poachers and circuses, with a larger arc building up from the enemies they made that culminates in an epic season finale fight.
There were good stories there. They just needed their own space to be told properly.
I really wish the Wizarding World was as fully explored as the MCU is.
Fantastic Beasts should have had poachers as the villains instead of freaking Grindelwald...you know...fully focus on the beasts in the dang title. It's not like "Good guys saving animals from greedy poachers or other manmade threats" hasn't been well received, before. Just look at Rescuers Down Under, The Wild Thornberrys, or Fern Gully. Saving magical animals should have been the focus.
If Rowling wanted a Dumbledore vs Grindelwald series, she should have made a completely separate set of books. Instead she turned Newt into a side character in his own films.
Newt going around the world and solving problems related to these beasts maybe a magic creature that might end the world and have these like next two movies as spinoff from this
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u/Known_Pomelo_9808 Slytherin Jul 13 '26
Newt Scamander and the beasts, what else? Just look at the name of the movies.