While the Harry Potter films have generally been recognized as family-friendly, the upcoming prequel Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald may be the darkest installment in the franchise to date.
Katherine Waterston, who reprises her role as Tina Goldstein from 2016’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, has confirmed that the ominous tone seen in the trailers for the film is present throughout the movie.
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“I think it’s definitely the darkest of the entire series, including all the Harry Potter films. It’s pretty much as intense as it can get,” explained Waterston in an interview with the Toronto Sun. “However, there are new beasts, there are baby beasts, there’s still these wonderful love stories that develop in surprising and challenging ways. So while it is dark, it’s exciting.”
The sequel will see the characters of the 2016 film face the breakout of the titular evil wizard as he seeks to disrupt the delicate balance between the magical world and their non-magical counterparts while setting up the events of the Harry Potter films.
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“Fans of Harry Potter will be able to make some amazing connections to the previous films. So it’s a wonderful balance of intensity and mystery and a lot of heart,” continued Waterston. “J.K. [Rowling] just writes completely believable characters and she never shortchanges a single actor. Every person is rich and complex and we get to see these complicated, smart, and tricky characters struggle as they develop into the people they are meant to be.”
Arriving on November 16, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is directed by David Yates, with J.K. Rowling, David Heyman, Steve Kloves, and Lionel Wigram serving as producers. The film stars Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander, Jude Law as Albus Dumbledore, Johnny Depp as Gellert Grindelwald, Katherine Waterston as Tina, Alison Sudol as Queenie, Dan Fogler as Jacob, Ezra Miller as Credence, Zoë Kravitz as Leta Lestrange, and Callum Turner as Theseus Scamander.