For all those “Fantastic Beasts” fans out there, it looks like you’ll have to be happy with a trilogy.
Plans for future installments seem to be on the back-burner, as per young Dumbledore star Jude Law, who shared in a recent interview with Variety that HBO’s planned “Harry Potter” TV series adaptation has taken much of the spotlight around the Wizarding World franchise.
“I know it’s certainly on hold,” Law said. “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.”
Eddie Redmayne, who played Newt Scamander in the “Fantastic Beasts” films, also expressed doubt in the series returning for another entry in a recent interview with ComicBook.com. However, he did share that his character and others may show up in the Wizarding World located in Florida’s Universal Studios.
“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. I think he may come back in a glimpse in the Universal world in Florida that they’re opening up, in which you may catch a glimpse of what he was up to in Paris.”
In his interview with Variety, Law added that author J.K. Rowling had shared with him a complete arc for his character, giving him many notes and explaining how Dumbledore likened himself to a monster.
“And that’s why he liked Newt,” said Law, referencing Redmayne’s magizoologist, “because Newt took care of monsters.”
Despite this description, Law found an inner peace playing the wise, if not secretive wizard. He said of how the role effected him, “To play him and to really feel a sense of his extraordinary powers, I found a nice place in myself. I liked his heart, and I liked playing him because of that. I always enjoyed stepping in his shoes.”
Sadly, Law may never get to do so again, but he is joining another major franchise later this year with “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.” Helmed by Jon Watts and Christopher Ford, the series is a coming-of-age story set against the perils and mysteries of the galaxy.
“Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” streams on Disney+ December 3.