Among the abundant qualities that made the Harry Potter franchise an international sensation, one that is scarcely mentioned is the elaborately constructed titles for each book (and their movie counterparts). Every entry in the franchise always began with the protagonist’s name followed by a descriptor of what exactly the story was about. Not exactly a new concept, but author J.K. Rowling always found a way to weave the title into the mystery of the story within. This usually lead to healthy speculation before a new book would drop over its title and what exactly it meant in the grand scheme of things.

Now, with Harry Potter spinoff/prequel Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them coming to theaters soon – and with four more sequels slated to follow, if the film performs well at the box office (which it’s projected to) – speculation has already started on what the future of the franchise holds for main protagonist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne). Now, fans may at least have a general idea of what the titles for future entries could look like.

According to a recent cast interview (via Comic Book), Redmayne revealed that Fantastic Beasts will follow a similar naming pattern that Harry Potter adopted, including Fantastic Beasts in subsequent sequels followed by relevant descriptor words for the story.  When asked about the exact nature of naming potential sequels, Redmayne revealed:

“I did actually ask that question to David Yates and David Heyman yesterday, and the answer is: Fantastic Beasts will remain in the title if we go forward, and then it will be ‘and the…’”

This development isn’t exactly surprising, as Rowling herself wrote the script for Fantastic Beasts (and is expected to write all four sequels as well) and it makes sense that she’d want to continue the Harry Potter tradition. Really, though, looking at the title for the first film (as well as its book counterpart, “written” by Scamander himself), it already sort of follows this tradition already. The real question now is whether the title for the next film will reveal anything about Dumbledore and Grindelwald’s involvement.

While some fans may be irked at the idea of five films instead of the original trilogy that was planned, at least they can look forward to four more films with creatively designed titles. Given the rich mythology of the Harry Potter series, however, it’s conceivable that Rowling still has many compelling stories left to tell in this universe. And now that she’s exploring other countries and their magical cultures, that should open up story possibilities that much more.

Source: Comic Book

  • Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Release Date: 2016-11-18 Fantastic Beasts Release Date: 2016-11-18 fantastic beasts and where to find them 2 Release Date: 2018-11-16 Fantastic Beasts 2 Release Date: 2018-11-16