BY BLUE KAUFMAN
Potterheads rejoice! After a two year moratorium since the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, JK Rowling and Warner Brothers have announced Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them!, a new spinoff film that will take place in the Harry Potter Universe.Desperate to quench the thirst for more of the wizarding world, the film has already received positive feedback and anticipation for it continues to mount. Fans are craving it. Hollywood is betting on it. The question is, will Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them! successfully be able to portray its own story? Or will it collapse under the pressure of the pre-established Harry Potter hype?
At first glance, I had serious doubts about this movie. Historically, I tend to dislike prequels and sequels to already established series. Studios are usually motivated by a lust for profit and while this technique does often work in terms of revenue, a series can often be abused in the process. No matter how much you love a saga, after awhile, the magic just isn’t there anymore (Die Hard, I’m looking at you).
However, as I continue to read more about Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them! My skepticism has surprisingly been replaced with delight. According to Rowling (who will be writing the screenplay) the film is neither a prequel nor a sequel but rather an extension of the wizarding world itself. Inspired by the novel of the same name written by Rowling in 2001, the story will actually take place 70 years prior to the story of Harry Potter and will follow the book’s “author” Newt Scamande. Still, while it’s a completely original story, Rowling has promised that “the laws and customs of the hidden magical society will be familiar to anyone who has read the Harry Potter books or seen the films”. Rumor has it there will even be a cameo from 16-year-old Dumbledore whose memoir also conveniently happens to appear in the book. (!!!!)
Granted, the film could easily trend toward being a jumble of really boring over-the-top CGI monsters and dragons and stuff. However, given the way the franchise has previously dealt with magical creatures I have high hopes. There is a scene in the second film where Fawkes (Dumbledore’s phoenix), uses its tears to heal Harry’s basilisk wound in the Chamber of Secrets. There’s another in the third film where Harry rides on Buckbeak the hippogriff across Hogwarts. These scenes are not only magical, they are beautiful, awe-inspiring, poetic, and a big reason why so many fell in love with the series in the first place. Without Voldemort looming over anymore, perhaps Fantastic Beasts and Where to find them will explore a lighter tone that has gone mostly unseen since the first few HP films.
Too long have our wands sat in our closet collecting dust. Too long have our mugglenet accounts gone without being logged into. Apart from providing a unique outlet for further exploration of the wizarding world, Warner Brothers and JK Rowling are also giving us an incredible opportunity: the chance to reengage with the series that helped shape our childhood. As long as the film is treated with the same care as the previous ones, Fantastic Beasts and Where to find them will continue the Harry Potter Legacy.
