‘Fantastic Beasts 3’ filming date finally set!

Fantastic Beasts 3 will begin filming in February 2020, star Dan Fogler recently confirmed.

Fogler, who plays No-Maj Jacob Kowalski in the series, revealed the update to an audience during a panel at LeakyCon, the largest unofficial fan convention dedicated to J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World:

“We haven’t started filming yet... We start in February. Last we heard, J.K. [Rowling]’s been writing furiously.”

The third film in the series was delayed as Warner Bros. decided to take a “new approach” to big productions. This came after Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald performed significantly lower than expected in the box office, opening globally with $253 million and grossing $652 million worldwide.

The delay gave Rowling time to revisit the script, and from what Fogler told the audience at LeakyCon, it looks like Warner Bros. have approved her new script:

“Everybody was really happy with what she submitted, and we’re all just waiting for the new script. And that’s where we’re at.”

Fogler told HeyUGuys back in February that the delay was due to third movie being “gigantic:”

“The reason we were given is that the movie is bigger than the first two combined. They needed more time to prep and they didn’t want to rush anything so they pushed it back. I can tell you that we are going to Brazil. I don’t really know much… [laughs]. I’ll get a script closer to when we start shooting.”

Fogler’s news about production suggests fan teasers and casting news will begin rolling out next year, coinciding with the first year of Wizarding World Gold and the Official Harry Potter Fan Club from Wizarding World Digital, launching next month. Wizarding World Digital is a new venture formed by a partnership between J.K. Rowling’s Pottermore Ltd and Warner Bros., hoping to capture new and old fans alike with the promise of exclusive content and news.

Fan reception of teasers for the third Fantastic Beasts film will be particularly telling when it comes to predicting the success of this film in the box office. The series is due to total five films, and it is likely David Yates will continue to direct future movies, due to comments made to CinemaBlend by producer David Heyman.

The third Fantastic Beasts movie, which is yet to be given a title, had an original expected release date of November 2020, but will in fact release November 12, 2021.

Source: Forbes