We already know that Fantastic Beasts is set to be a five-film franchise. But unlike the Harry Potter series from which it has spun fantastically off from, we don’t have any firm knowledge of what’s to come. With Potter, we had Rowling’s books – but with Fantastic Beasts we’re looking at a blank slate. So we asked the cast of the second instalment, The Crimes of Grindelwald, what they’d like to see in the next film and beyond.
In The Crimes of Grindelwald, main protagonist magizoologist, Newt Scamander, finds himself thrown together once again with Tina Goldstein. Both are on the trail of Credence Barebone, and wind up teaming up to thwart Grindelwald whose plans to assemble an army of followers and stage a coup result in a terrorist incident in Paris. Throughout the film, Newt and Tina are at loggerheads, since both have feelings for one another. But a misunderstanding means that a jealous Tina is resistant to resolving the issue. And with Newt incredibly shy and inexperienced when it comes to matters of the heart, the pair are frustratingly kept apart romantically until they finally clear the air during an adorably awkward exchange.
Butterbeer, Banter and a Deleted Scene
So it’s perhaps unsurprising that Eddie Redmayne, who plays Newt in the films, says he’d like to see Newt and Tina spend some quality time together at some point down the line, and suggests a date night.
“Tina and Newt’s relationship I find so endearing but it’s always been so at loggerheads,” he says. “They’re both highly strung in some ways. I would love to see them go and sit in a pub — a wizarding pub — have a load of Butterbeer and just put the world to rights. In fact, there was a scene in a pub in this film that got cut in which Pickett got drunk… but I would love that. Chill out a bit. Laugh.”
Tina actress, Katherine Waterston, agrees: “Did you ever see Annie Hall? There’s the scene with the lobsters, and they’re trying to get the lobster in the pot — which obviously would not be a scene that Newt would take any part in — but the inside-the-case version of that. Like some kind of wrangling beasts and having a laugh together. Just easier days. Calmer. A life out of wartime a little might be nice.”
A Fan Theory Come True
Dan Fogler, who plays Jacob Kowalski, meanwhile, wants the No-Maj to meet an OG Harry Potter character – and discover the truth behind a fan theory.
“I would have Jacob meet up with Hagrid somehow,” says Dan. “But you know what I think would be really cool? There’s this fan theory about Quentin Kowalski, who is part of Queenie’s name and obviously Jacob’s last name, and I feel like that’s our kid or grandkid or something. I’d love to figure out if that guy is really related somehow. That would be cool.”
He’d also like to see Jacob’s military background come into play: “He’s a soldier. So, I know this is heading toward this big confrontation, this big war between Dumbledore and Grindelwald, so I’m hoping that I’m running, avoiding magic blasts… it’s like war again.”
Could Voldemort Figure?
Newcomer to the franchise, Claudia Kim – who plays snake-woman Nagini – says she’d like to find out how her character meets Tom Riddle. In the Harry Potter films, of course, Nagini is seen in snake form as ally to Voldemort and the seventh Horcrux.
In The Crimes of Grindelwald, she teams up with Credence, played by Ezra Miller. He’d like to see the action move somewhere less cold than Paris – beyond Rio, where according to J.K. Rowling the next film will be set.
It’s Rio da Janeiro in the 1930s. https://t.co/z7Begrrd9A
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) November 1, 2018
“We like places that are warm, so happy to be anywhere a little closer to the equator just in case… talk to us after we see our costumes,” he laughs.
Although Kim felt the chill making this film, she’s happy to stick with low temperatures and for her character to head to a classic Potter location: “I was very cold in that dress [I was wearing in this film]. I [just] had a pair of stockings [underneath] in London weather. But let’s get colder and go to Hogwarts.”
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is out now.