In a few days, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will hit cinemas across the globe, giving potterheads everywhere another long-awaited venture into the Wizarding World. And you know how I think most of us are going to feel? Disappointed. Here’s why.
After Warner Bros. announced Fantastic Beasts, they revealed it to be the first part of a trilogy. Already, alarm bells should be ringing. Remember that Fantastic Beasts is actually a fictional textbook describing a bunch of magical creatures documented by the author Newt Scamander. There’s a brief biography of Newt but no mention of his adventures in New York City. That means they concocted an original story for the film. What’s the harm in that? Well, we’ve got one short book being spun out into not only one film but three. I’m sure you all remember how that turned out last time.
But wait, it gets worse. Last month, J.K. Rowling announced that Fantastic Beasts is actually the first of five films. It seems more and more likely that Warner Bros. are set to make the Wizarding World the latest shared cinematic universe à la Marvel. My issue with this is not that there’ll be a lot of films. I wouldn’t call myself a potterhead, but I enjoyed nearly all of the Harry Potter films and most of the books. No – my problem is that they’re already planning so many before we’ve even seen the first one. That is a big big problem for a number of reasons.
First, let’s take a look at the most successful cinematic universe to date, that of Marvel Studios (MCU) and its rival, the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). It’s no secret that the DCEU is struggling to make the same mark as the MCU, with all three of its films being critical disappointments and prompting fan petitions to release Zack Snyder from his directing obligations. It’s a symptom of planning a boat-load of films with no real endgame in mind.
The MCU planned most of its first phase simultaneously. However, they built on the success of Iron Man with great care. They even released a sequel to Iron Man before introducing Cap and Thor. They did this knowing that we’d have four origin stories before tying them all together in the climactic Avengers, which many fans still consider the best in the universe. In short, they set out to tell a story.
When DC announced their release schedule, it was clear that they were desperately playing catch-up, trying to cash in on the superhero trend before audiences grew tired of it. They have no idea what story they’re trying to tell – they just want to get a few characters on screen before mashing them all together and padding it out as long as they can.
One bit of hope that I do have for Fantastic Beasts is that it isn’t a superhero story. It’s a cinematic universe in a genre that we’re not fatigued with yet. However, announcing that there are going to five films (at least!) so close to the release of the first one makes it evident that they don’t know what story they actually want to tell. For that reason, they’re either padding out a small idea (like The Hobbit) or just rolling with it and hoping (like the DCEU). Oh, and not to mention rolling in it.
One successful aspect of the DCEU is their ability to make money. In spite of the negative reception, those three films alone have grossed well over $2billion globally. And that’s the biggest danger. Film studios don’t give a shit how bad their films are, so long as they make money. So will be the case with Fantastic Beasts. Make no mistake – money is the primary motivation for the making of this film, and they know audiences won’t give a damn.
Think about it – how on earth can a film studio get away with planning so many instalments before they even know whether the first will be well-received? Bear in mind that each film is a $200million+ investment! The answer is simple: They don’t need the film to be well-received. Critics might pan it, fans might whinge and sign petitions, but they’ll see the sequel nonetheless. Suicide Squad was total shit, but it made big money. Why should the Wizarding World be any different? Even the DCEU is owned by Warner Bros., the same studio as the Wizarding World.
Now, I can hear you all huffing and puffing and hufflepuffling that all I’ve talked about are film studios and financial implications and what not. What about the story? Can’t we hope that that aspect of Fantastic Beasts will be good? Well, read on, because I’ve got a lot to say about that, too…
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