9 Upcoming Movies Studios Have No Confidence In
9. Fantastic Beasts 3
The Movie
The third entry into J.K. Rowling's five-film Harry Potter spin-off franchise, currently set to release on November 20, 2020.
The sequel will once again see hero Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) facing off against the tyrannical dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp).
What's Wrong?
For starters, it's likely that Warner Bros. was massively blindsided by the mixed-negative critical and fan response to The Crimes of Grindelwald, which at just 37% on the Tomatometer is by far the worst-reviewed Wizarding World film to date (and the only one to be critically Rotten).
The film also under-performed at the box office, grossing "only" $653.7 million worldwide, making it the lowest-grossing film in the ten-movie franchise by a margin of almost $150 million. Given that many expected it to cross the $1 billion mark, that's quite a tumble indeed.
As such, the as-yet-untitled third film faces an uphill struggle to win back audiences, and given that Rowling's script was completed mere weeks after The Crimes of Grindelwald hit screens, she likely didn't have much time to factor in all the post-release criticism and pivot her approach.
Warner Bros. did delay shooting from summer to the fall, however, so it's possible she's using the extra time to re-touch the script.
But on top of all this, reports emerged recently that the studio is extremely worried about Johnny Depp's role in the franchise, given the physical abuse allegations levelled against him by his ex-wife Amber Heard.
Furthermore, many Warner Bros. executives are frustrated at how decisively Rowling came out in defence of Depp's casting originally, and how this may box them into a corner in the future.
The nature of Grindelwald's character does at least mean that he could theoretically be recast in a way that kind-of makes sense - perhaps even bringing back Colin Farrell? - but it's certainly a messy conundrum either way, and one that doesn't exactly endear the movie to already-sceptical audiences.
Needless to say, WB will likely have their expectations in check following the previous film's overall disappointing end result. And if they can't course-correct in this case, the planned five-film franchise could end up being cut unceremoniously short.