Fantastic Beasts 2: Everything You Need To Know

10. It Could Be The Empire Strikes Back Of The Franchise

The first Fantastic Beasts film felt like a proof of concept experiment, designed to double-check there was an audience for far-flung Harry Potter prequels rather than delving into the nitty gritty of an important story. The second film won't have to bother with any of that, or play it safe at all, essentially giving Rowling a clean slate to tell whatever story she can dream up.

Just before Fantastic Beasts came out, Rowling told the BBC that she had "done the plotting properly and [was] pretty sure it's going to be five movies." She later revealed on Twitter that the story "starts in 1926 and ends in 1945." So Fantastic Beasts is an epic five-part saga spanning 19 years, which means that films 2, 3 and 4 can be complete wildcards.

Without the need to set up characters or provide an ending to the overarching story, these movies that can be deep, dark and unpredictable.

If luck is on its side (anyone got some Felix Felicis?), Fantastic Beasts 2 could be the Empire Strikes Back of the franchise, where hefty revelations are unfurled, weird locations are explored and the core characters' darkest depths are discovered. The heroes and villains of the first film felt a bit thinly sketched, but the sequel could change that.