Fantastic Beasts Franchise Likely Dead, Says Jude Law, Eddie Redmayne

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Jude Law loved his time playing a young Dumbledore in two “Fantastic Beasts” movies, but he told Variety as part of a new cover story that his time as the iconic “Harry Potter” wizard is most likely over as Warner Bros. turns its attention toward a television series based on J.K. Rowling’s original seven novels.
“I know it’s certainly on hold,” Law said about the future of the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise. “My guess would be that, now that they’re doing ‘Harry Potter’ as a TV show, they’ll probably put their energy into that. I certainly haven’t heard that there’s anything on the horizon.”
The “Fantastic Beasts” franchise launched in 2016 with “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.” The movie, with a script co-written by Rowling herself, grossed a mighty $814 million at the worldwide box office, but that magic quickly died out when the sequels “The Crimes of Grindelwald” (2018) and “The Secrets of Dumbledore” (2022) earned mixed reviews and sputtered at the box office with $654 million and $407 million, respectively.
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The franchise, which Rowling planned as having five movies total, centered on the British wizard and “magizoologist” Newt Scamander, played by Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne. Newt finds himself in the middle of an escalating war being waged by the evil wizard Grindelwald. Law starred as Dumbledore in the latter two films.
In a recent interview with ComicBook.com, Redmayne also expressed doubt in terms of the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise continuing and hitting Rowling’s original five-film goal.
“I think they probably have [seen the last of Newt],” Redmayne said. “That was a very frank answer, but yeah. And that’s as far as I know. I mean, you’d have to speak to the people at Warner Bros. and J.K Rowling, but as far as I know, that’s it.”
Speaking to Variety for his cover story, Law remembered his initial meetings with Rowling about taking on the role of a younger Dumbledore. They first met in 2017 and Rowling filled the actor in on the character’s full arc in the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise.
“I had a pretty clear sense of where it was going to go,” Law said, recalling that Rowling gave him many notes, including one that Dumbledore saw himself as a monster. “And that’s why he liked Newt, because Newt took care of monsters.”
In the movies, Dumbledore struggles with his identity as a gay man who falls in love with Grindelwald. “Because of Dumbledore’s past,” Law noted, describing a fight with Grindelwald that led to his sister’s death, “I think he always felt guilty that he had been misled because he was in love. It followed him. He found himself to be unlovable because he trusted his heart.”
Law added that he found “a nice place” for himself as an actor through taking on the role of Dumbledore and getting a sense for his “extraordinary powers.”
“I liked his heart, and I liked playing him because of that. I always enjoyed stepping in his shoes,” Law concluded.
Read Law’s full Variety cover story here.