As exciting it is to see Dumbledore and Grindelwald duel in newest trailer for Fantastic Beasts 3 has brought a new look to the film that will open on April 15th and teased some thrilling moments. David Yates returns to the director's chair in what will be his seventh film in the Wizarding World franchise.
Fantastic Beasts 3 will have the difficult task of continuing the series after Mads Mikkelsen will replace Johnny Depp as Grindelwald. Fantastic Beasts 3 promises to continue Newman's story, while also developing more of the turbulent relationship between Dumbledore and Grindelwald.
The fact that Fantastic Beasts 3 will already jump into the fight between Dumbledore and Grindelwald suggests that the initial five-film plan may have been abandoned. According to what is known from the lore of the saga, there was only one duel between Dumbledore and Grindelwald, which took place in 1945. The idea that the Fantastic Beasts franchise would span five films would make audiences imagine that the great encounter between the two pillars of the story would be saved for later, perhaps the fourth or fifth film. Given the problems that the Fantastic Beasts films have faced both behind the camera and at the box office, it's not at all far-fetched to imagine the franchise could end sooner than expected. Having Dumbledore and Grindelwald fight each other earlier in the timeline can also ensure that audiences will get to see at least a version of the long-awaited duel.
Fantastic Beasts 3 can't advance the plot far enough to catch up with where the story was originally envisioned to end, meaning that a possible cancellation of the franchise would leave a lot of loose ends. Even if the fight between Dumbledore and Grindelwald is not the definitive duel described in the books, it can at least pay off the themes already set up in the previous Fantastic Beasts films.
The duel having already been spoiled by the Fantastic Beasts 3 trailer could also indicate that the studio is trying everything to draw audiences and ensure a solid enough box office. The intention may be to point out to movie-goers that if such an important scene has already been shown in the trailer, then Fantastic Beasts 3 may have even bigger twists in store for the film. This strategy can however backfire if at the end of the day there isn't much more to the movie than what was shown in the trailer.
The chance for audiences to see Dumbledore and Grindelwald duel in Fantastic Beasts 3 can't exactly be called bad news, but it does indicate that the Fantastic Beasts franchise might be short-lived. If the five-film plan is indeed abandoned, then at least the director has ensured that Dumbledore and Grindelwald will have fought each other on-screen at least once. That said, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore's box office results are what will define whether the Wizarding World will continue its long cinematic journey.
