The second movie in the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them series began filming on Monday, July 3, Variety reported.  The cast and crew reported to Warner Bros. Leavesden Studios in Leavesden, Hertfordshire, to begin filming.  Leavesden Studios was Leavesden Aerodrome during WWII, when it served as an aircraft factory. All of the Harry Potter films have been filmed at least partially at Leavesden Studios.

Eddie Redmayne reprises his role as magizoologist Newt Scarmander in "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2."

Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scarmander {image via Warner Bros.}

As SCIFI.radio reported this spring, Eddie Redmayne will be reprising his role as magizoologist Newt Scarmander. Johnny Depp will be returning as Gellert Grindelwald.  Director David Yates and scriptwriter J. K. Rowling will be back where they belong, making the magic come to life.

While we don’t yet know the title of the new movie, Warner Bros. has released some information about the plot and actors.  The Goldstein sisters, Tina (Katherine Waterston) and Queenie (Alison Sudol) will be back, as will Muggle ally Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler).  Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller) will also be returning.  Joining the cast will be Newt’s brother, Auror Theseus Scarmander (Callum Turner), Hogwarts Transfigurations Professor Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law), and the beautiful but mysterious Leta Lestrange (Zoë Kravitz), who still has a claim on Newt’s heart.  The film will be at least partially set in Paris, but given the return of Jacob Kowalski, Credence Barebone, and the Goldstein sisters, it seems a safe guess that some of it will also take place in New York City. 

Muggle Jacob Kowalski, played by Dan Fogler, will be returning in "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2."

Witch Queenie Goldstein (Alison Sudol) and Muggle Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) {image via Warner Bros.}

 “Grindelwald has made a dramatic escape and has been gathering more followers to his cause – elevating wizards above all non-magical beings. The only one who might be able to stop him is the wizard he once called his dearest friend, Albus Dumbledore. But Dumbledore will need help from the wizard who had thwarted Grindelwald once before, his former student Newt Scamander.”

The plot involves bounty hunters and a wizarding circus.  Ólafur Darri Ólafsson will play Skender, the ringmaster, and Claudia Kim will play a  circus performer. Against the background of the Roaring Twenties, “an increasingly dangerous and divided wizarding world” will be a perilous place for a mild-mannered magizoologist and his friends.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2 should released in November, 2018.  It is the second in a planned five-movie series which is rumored to stretch out over two decades.

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Susan Macdonald

Susan Macdonald

Susan Macdonald is the author of the children’s book “R is for Renaissance Faire”, as well as 26 short stories, mostly fantasy in “Alternative Truths”, “Swords and Sorceress ”, Swords &Sorceries Vols. 1, 2, & 5, “Cat Tails” “Under Western Stars”, and “Knee-High Drummond and the Durango Kid”. Her articles have appeared on SCIFI.radio’s web site, in The Inquisitr, and in The Millington Star. She enjoys Renaissance Faires (see book above), science fiction conventions,  Highland Games, and Native American pow-wows.