Time Made Of Strawberries – Un Temps De Fraises

With Fantastic Beasts 3 filming news revealed, which questions are left unanswered?

By Mélissa M Azombo

Talking at Toronto Film Festival, Eddie Redmayne recently revealed that Fantastic Beasts 3 is set to start filming in early 2020, as the script is currently being worked on.

The third installment in the Fantastic Beasts series will follow Fantastic Beats and Where To Find Them and more recently, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald. The latter, when released 2 years ago, seemed to split opinion. Revisiting this instalment in the series, what stood out and which questions did it raise that fans would like to see answered in Fantastic Beast 3? Beware: some spoilers ahead.

Pictured: Eddie Redmayne on the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival Red Carpet.

At the crux of the story is the battle against Grindelwald, someone known to the audience as a dark wizard once very well acquainted with the great wizard Albus Dumblebore. This battle does not break out in the blink of an eye. It gets stronger as his rise gains momentum. Spanning the continents, we see this quest is crucial in the future of the wizarding world. It is organic in its progression and features some uncomfortable moments, such as Grindelwald ordering one of his people to take care of the life of a baby, so to speak.

Despite this, referring back to the title of this film, we can’t miss that there were not as many crimes at Grindelwald’s hand as the title would allure to. This might hint at something bigger in Fantastic Beasts 3. It is also possible that his crimes are more symbolic than that. They might have more to do with the fractures caused by his actions in his quest to disrupt the magical world.

Pictured: Queenie Goldstein followed her heart in The Crimes Of Grindelwald but will she continue to in Fantastic Beasts 3?

One of these is the confusing split of Queenie & Jacob. Queenie is a legitiment, so she should be able to read Grindelwald’s mind and be aware of his true intentions. Instead, she joins him. Is Queenie enchanted? How else is it possible for her not to know that she is being misled?

The union of Queenie and Jacob was a symbol of what could be, in the magical world. Splitting them up foreshadows a stagnant future or regression. Via his actions, Grindelwald destroyed hope. The repercussions of this must be faced in the next movie.

Pictured: Leta Lestrange told Newt he never met a monster he couldn’t love.

What we won’t see in the next movie though is anything to do with Leta Lestrange. The potential for her character development was stolen in a dramatic twist. We had gotten to know her enough throughout the movie that her departure was poignant. Regardless, there was still so much to be disclosed about her family ties and where her heart truly lies between Thesius and Newt Scamander. Why did she have to go so soon in the storyline? Did she need to be out of the way for Tina’s and Newt’s relationship to truly flourish? This could have been a chance for Leta and Newt’s loyalties to truly be put to the test.

She would have been a good addition to the team moving forward and, given Grindelwald’s rise in followers, Newt needs as many people behind him to bring this opponent down. It’s possible time will be dedicated to the aftermath of losing Leta in the next movie and perhaps it will become clear why she had to leave so soon and so unexpectedly.

Above: Will Credence Barebone’s search for answers continue to endanger them all?

This movie could have ended very differently. Ultimately, Credence’s thirst for knowledge of his past dooms them all. Desperate to know more about his family, he sides with the only man who promises him this. How truthful this promise is, remains to be seen. Given what we discover of Grindelwald’s character throughout the film, we can’t put it past him to take advantage of a young man for his own plans.

In true Harry Potter style, the effects are enchanting fully throwing us into this magical world and the musical score is perfect. This is not the wonderous magic of the first Fantastic Beasts film, though. The Crimes Of Grindelwald has dark undertones, reminiscent of the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows two-parter. So, we could say it was fitting that this film felt more like Deathly Hallows part one, rather than one of the stand-alone Harry Potter films, which still worked smoothly within the series. This film felt more like a build-up towards bigger things to come, rather than a cosy watch when poorly.

What this film did achieve was allowing you to gain more affection towards these characters. Whether present in the first film or introduced to you in this film, they were developed in a way that led us deeper into their minds.

Tina and Queenie Goldstein separated and became more established as individuals as the story progressed, highlighting their priorities. While Queenie sought to secure her future with Jacob, Tina sought to get to the bottom of a mystery, encountering Newt Scamander in the process. They connect in a way we have not seen before, all amidst the action. Credence’s search for his family shows us what he is capable of doing what he feels he needs to do, to get what he wants. We also see all the feelings involved in the Scamander-Lestrange love triangle brought to the forefront.

However, we still need to understand the full reasons behind Gelert Grindelwald’s motivation, but this might not be revealed until film 5, just as Snape’s true intentions were only revealed in his last film. Regardless, the build-up does not fully work because we know Grindelwald is only captured. He is killed later in the Harry Potter saga. The same is true for Dumbledore. We know that he is safe for these 5 films because he survives to the Harry Potter series. So were 5 movies necessary instead of the originally planned 3?

Professor McGonagall and Nicolas Flamel also make appearances in this movie, but it is the former who has everyone confused. Some quick calculations allowed many fans to conclude that the year this movie is set was too early for McGonnagal to have possibly been a teacher at Hogwarts. The leading fan theory? Time travel. Interesting and possible, since we know that witches and wizards have access to a time turner.

We learn more about the Dumbledore family tree in an unexpected cliffhanger but does it make sense in Harry Potter-lore and more to the point, is it true?

Earlier on in the movie, we know that Dumbledore can not move against Grindelwald due to a blood pact, symbolised by a pendant. By the end of the movie, this has changed. If Dumbledore can now move against Grindelwald, is he the reason he is later captured. How much did not being able to move against Grindelwald have to do with a spell, versus Gelert being an old flame?

These are all of the things that Fantastic Beasts 3 will need to explain. These are the answers Fantastic Beasts fans await in 2021.