There are popular franchises, and then there’s The Wizarding World. Starting with J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels, the property has grown into theme parks, stage plays, and (of course) the movies (which are streaming with a Max subscription). But following the poor box office performance of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, fans are wondering if the final two entries int the spinoff will ever come to fruition. Franchise star Katherine Waterson shares her honest thoughts about the future, and now I’m in my feelings.
What we know about the upcoming Harry Potter series is limited, but some and are worried that the studio has abandoned the Fantastic Beasts franchise altogether. Actress Katherine Waterson played Tina Goldstein in all three films, and was asked by NME about the magical spinoff. Unfortunately, she said:
I think that ship has sailed.
I’m not crying, your’e crying. Seriously though, this is a big bummer. While the Fantastic Beasts franchise never reached the heights of the Harry Potter movies, it was originally meant to be a five-movie story. And since we only got the first three entries, it’s unclear if we’ll ever get answers to the countless questions moviegoers had at the end of The Secrets of Dumbledore.
While the original Fantastic Beasts movie did quite well, neither of its sequel ended up being box office and critical sensations. And given just how expensive the movies are to make (especially The Secrets of Dumbledore which was filmed amidst the pandemic), it seems like Warner Bros. might have cut its losses. And I’m really so bummed.
Story wise, there were a number of narrative threads that the fourth and fifth Fantastic Beasts movies would presumably pull from… if the ever get green lit by the folks at Warner Bros.. That includes the complicated relationship between Dumbledore and Grindelwald, and their history as lovers. The Crimes of Grindelwald also introduced Nagini as a human, although she was noticeably missing from the last movie. Still, fans were curious to see how she would eventually become one of Voldemort’s horcruxes.
Unfortunately, Waterson’s comments seem to hint that the Fantastic Beasts franchise is actually dead in the water. This echoes comments from Jude Law, which also put doubt in whether or not he’d be back as a Young Dumbledore. Perhaps books or some other form of media will be released, and reveal what would have happened in the final two chapters.
Of course, fans are looking forward to the developing Harry Potter show that’s going to eventually be hitting Max. With each season presumably adapting one of the books, there will be far more time to adapt elements from J.K. Rowling’s novels which were cut from the movies. And fans are eager for casting nes to arrive.
The Harry Potter franchise is streaming on Max. Check the 2025 movie release dates.