Summary
- The Harry Potter movies and Fantastic Beasts series span decades, offering a magical journey through the Wizarding World's history.
- The timeline, starting in the 1920s with Fantastic Beasts and moving to the 1990s in Harry Potter, can be enjoyed chronologically.
- The final film, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, delves into the early 1930s, adding complexity to the magical saga.
The Fantastic Beasts movies, which came out after the Harry Potter movies but served as prequels to the events of the original franchise. However, there is a fairly straightforward way to enjoy the Potterverse in chronological order.
Though the Harry Potter stories take place in an alternate version of the real world in which wizards have been part of world history, they actually take place slightly in the past. The books by J. K. Rowling largely take place during the 1990s and the movies follow that trend. The Fantastic Beasts movies, on the other hand, date back even further in the past, taking place several decades earlier. Those looking to enjoy watching the Wizarding World evolve over the years can follow an easy chronological order.
Movies |
Time Period |
|---|---|
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) |
1926 |
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018) |
1927 |
Fantastic Beasts and the Secrets of Dumbledore (2022) |
Early 1930s |
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) |
1991-1992 |
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) |
1992-1993 |
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) |
1993-1994 |
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) |
1994-1995 |
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) |
1995-1996 |
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) |
1996-1997 |
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010) |
1997-1998 |
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011) |
1998 & 2017
|
Harry Potter: 20 Must-Read Fanfics
There are many great Harry Potter fanfics out there, and there are a handful that are absolute must-reads for a variety of reasons!
Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them (2016)
1926
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
- Release Date
- November 18, 2016
- Runtime
- 133 minutes
- Director
- David Yates
Cast
Alison Sudol
WHERE TO WATCH
In 1926, British magizoologist Newt Scamander travels to New York City in his ongoing field research into magical creatures. Here, he finds himself caught up in some trouble involving a No-Maj, local wizarding law enforcement, and the Dark Wizard Grindelwald.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them may be the ninth film to be released in this universe, but chronologically, it's where everything begins. The movie is set in 1926, 65 years before the events of the first Harry Potter movie, long before Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) and his friends were even born, and centers on Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), a magizoologist who is visiting New York City.
If the name Scamander sounds familiar, of course, that's because he wrote one of Harry Potter's textbooks — Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them! The 2016 movie has tons of small Easter eggs for Harry Potter fans to enjoy, like the introduction of a Bowtruckle, a creature mentioned in Care of Magical Creatures class at Hogwarts. However, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them also explores bigger characters in the Harry Potter mythology, including Newt, as well as the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp).
The movie itself takes place over a relatively short period of time compared to some of the later movies, following Newt and his comrades on their quest to keep the Wizarding World a secret from Muggles. It is also the first time the magic world is explored outside of England, with the action taking place in America, introducing the Magical Congress of the United States.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald (2018)
1927
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Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
- Release Date
- November 16, 2018
- Runtime
- 134 Minutes
- Director
- David Yates
Cast
Newt Scamander
Dan FoglerPorpentina 'Tina' Goldstein
WHERE TO WATCH
The second film in the Harry Potter prequel franchise, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald delves deeper into the machinations of the titular villain. With the dark wizard Grindelwald intent on sparking a war between magical and non-magical societies, it falls to magizoologist Newt Scamander and a young Albus Dumbledore to stop him.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is the direct sequel to Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, taking place months after the events of the first movie in 1927. It is also the second film in this prequel series. After the reveal of Gellert Grindelwald at the end of the previous film, the sequel picks up with the villain escaping and beginning to amass an army to begin his new world order where wizards reign supreme. This leads to Newt being recruited to stop him by Albus Dumbledore.
The sequel embraces the mythology of the original Harry Potter movies more directly than the first film, including the appearance of a younger Dumbledore (played by Jude Law). Fan-favorite character Minerva McGonagall (Fiona Glascott) also appears, and Hogwarts is shown. The movie also begins to set the stage for the duel between Dumbledore and Grindelwald, which is the stuff of wizarding legend and referenced in the original Harry Potter series.
Much like how the first movie explored America, The Crimes of Grindelwald expands the magical world by taking place mostly in and introducing the French Ministry of Magic. The movie also contains a number of flashbacks, featuring younger versions of Grindelwald and Dumbledore, filling in more of their history.
Fantastic Beasts And The Secrets Of Dumbledore (2022)
Early 1930s
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Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
- Release Date
- April 8, 2022
- Runtime
- 142 minutes
- Director
- David Yates
WHERE TO WATCH
In the third and final installment of the Fantastic Beasts trilogy, the threat of Grindelwald grows ever larger. To defeat him, Albus Dumbledore recruits Newt Scamander, along with other talented witches and wizards, to fight Grindelwald and his acolytes before their plans to destroy the non-magic world come to .
The third and final movie in the Fantastic Beasts trilogy is also one of the most confusing in of its timeline. Rare for the Harry Potter franchise, Fantastic Beasts and the Secrets of Dumbledore includes a roughly five-year time jump, taking place in the early 1930s. Once again, heroes like Newt and Dumbledore are working to thwart Grindelwald's plans to take over the wizarding world. However, this time, Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen, replacing Johnny Depp) has a secret weapon to help in his mission and play with time.
Early in the movie, Grindelwald captures and kills a magical creature called a Qilin, gaining its power to see into the future, with his scenes doing so adding to the confusing nature of the movie's timeline. The third movie continues to offer a globe-trotting look at the magic world, with parts of the story taking place in and China. This adds to the build-up to World War II, which would have been explored had the franchise continued.
Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
1991-1992
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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
- Release Date
- November 16, 2001
- Runtime
- 152 Minutes
- Director
- Chris Columbus
Cast
Harry Potter
Ron Weasley
WHERE TO WATCH
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - known as Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in the US - follows the titular Harry Potter as he discovers he has magical powers. Living with his cruel aunt and uncle, the orphaned Harry lives a challenging life that is changed when he meets a gentle giant named Hagrid, who spirits him away to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, takes place in 1991, when Harry Potter is eleven years old. In fact, it is on his eleventh birthday that Harry learns about his parents and that he is a wizard who has been invited to study magic at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The first movie introduces Harry and the audience to Hogwarts and the Wizarding World. It also features the first appearance of key characters like Ron, Hermione, Draco, and Snape, among the many other fan-favorite figures in this world that fans have come to know.
The movie covers Harry's entire first year at Hogwarts, showing the change of time through the students of Hogwarts celebrating various holidays, including Halloween and Christmas, meaning the timeline goes into 1992 as well. This takes the story right up until the end of the school year, ending with Harry and his friends going their separate ways for the summer.
The first scene of the movie actually takes place in the early 1980s with Dumbledore and some other prominent wizards discussing the death of Lily and James Potter and what will become of their son, Harry. There are also some brief flashbacks showing the death of Harry's parents and baby Harry's confrontation with Voldemort.
Harry Potter And The Chamber of Secrets (2002)
1992-1993
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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- Release Date
- November 13, 2002
- Runtime
- 161 minutes
- Director
- Chris Columbus
Cast
-
Harry Potter
-
Ron Weasley
WHERE TO WATCH
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the second installment in the Harry Potter film series, directed by Chris Columbus. Released in 2002, it follows Harry, Ron, and Hermione as they face new challenges at Hogwarts, including ominous threats linked to the legendary Chamber of Secrets.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets picks up in 1992 at the end of Harry's summer break as he is heading into his second year at Hogwarts. With a full year of magic study already under his belt, Harry is a little more confident in this world while still exploring the various mysteries of the school and its secrets. After being introduced briefly in the first movie, Ginny Weasley is shown to be starting her time as a student at Hogwarts.
Chamber of Secrets plays around slightly with time as it deals with the mystery of Tom Riddle, a former student of Hogwarts. Tom is seen in various flashbacks throughout the movie before it is finally revealed that Tom is actually 16-year-old Voldemort, who attended Hogwarts 50 years before Harry, dating the flashbacks to around 1943. This introduces one of the key Horcruxes into the Harry Potter story, in the form of Tom's diary. As with the first movie, the second installment ends with the conclusion of the school year in 1993.
Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban (2004)
1993-1994
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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- Release Date
- March 1, 2004
- Runtime
- 144 Minutes
- Director
- Alfonso Cuarón
Cast
-
Harry Potter
Hermione Granger
WHERE TO WATCH
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: In Harry's third year at Hogwarts, he faces more complex magical challenges and encounters fear-inducing Dementors. The escape of the notorious wizard Sirius Black from Azkaban casts a shadow over the school year, presenting new threats and mysteries for Harry and his friends to unravel.
Following the format established with the previous two movies, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban begins with Harry returning for his third year at Hogwarts in 1993. However, the movie first picks up during Harry's summer vacation and his misadventures with the Dursleys. The third installment also introduces the fan-favorite Harry Potter character of Sirus Black, the man accused of betraying Harry's parents who is eventually revealed to be the closest thing to family that Harry has.
Harry's third year at Hogwarts has come to an end and it is 1994
Similar to how the powers of Qilin were used in Fantastic Beasts and the Secrets of Dumbledore, time is manipulated in this story thanks to Harry and Hermione using the Time Turner. This magical item allows the heroes to travel back in time one day and fix a mistake, meaning that it technically starts a new timeline in the Harry Potter universe. However, given that it is one day, it doesn't confuse the chronology of things too badly. By the end of the movie, Harry's third year at Hogwarts has come to an end and it is 1994.
Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire (2005)
1994-1995
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Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- Release Date
- November 16, 2005
- Runtime
- 157 minutes
- Director
- Mike Newell
Cast
-
Harry Potter
-
Hermione Granger
WHERE TO WATCH
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire follows Harry as he is unexpectedly entered into the dangerous Triwizard Tournament, pitting him against other young wizards. Amid challenges involving dragons, water demons, and a mysterious labyrinth, Harry faces impending peril linked to the return of the dark wizard Voldemort.
- Writers
- J.K. Rowling, Steve Kloves
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire begins its story in 1994 with Harry on summer vacation again, but this time he gets to spend it with Ron and his family. It takes a little longer for the story to get to Hogwarts compared to the previous movies, but the school-centric plot is certainly a memorable one. It sees the Triwizard Tournament taking place with Harry representing Hogwarts in a series of magic (and oddly dangerous) competitions.
Amid all of the tournament fun, the movie also features a number of flashbacks, including a Barty Crouch subplot that takes place in the 1980s. The movie also marks the point in which He Who Must Not Be Named returns to his true form, with Ralph Fiennes playing Voldemort for the first time on screen. Instead of Goblet of Fire ending with the celebratory end-of-year feast, it is a somber one in the aftermath of Cedric Diggory's death and the return of Voldemort.
Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix (2007)
1995-1996
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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- Release Date
- July 11, 2007
- Runtime
- 138 Minutes
- Director
- David Yates
Cast
-
Harry Potter
-
Hermione Granger
WHERE TO WATCH
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix follows Harry's return to Hogwarts for his fifth year, where he finds himself disbelieved about Lord Voldemort's return. As a result, Harry takes initiative, forming a group of students to master defense against dark forces, facing opposition from the Ministry of Magic.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix picks up in 1995 with Harry preparing for his fifth year at Hogwarts, which is put in jeopardy when he is once again accused of using magic outside of school. Despite avoiding expulsion, it is a much more serious year at Hogwarts. This is the film where Harry's schoolwork starts to take a backseat to his eventual battle with Voldemort. Harry and Dumbledore know that Voldemort has returned, but the Ministry of Magic is desperate to keep people calm by hushing things up.
Order of the Phoenix presents a fairly straightforward timeline for its story, but there is one key flashback, dating back to 1976, where Harry sees his father and Snape as Hogwarts students revealing that James Potter bullied Snape. This movie sees a big change in Harry as a character, showing him maturing and stepping into a grown-up role. He leads his fellow students and shows more confidence in battling Voldemort and his followers. He ends the year in 1996 with the loss of Sirus Black but the determination to fight for their future.
Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince (2009)
1996-1997
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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- Release Date
- July 15, 2009
- Runtime
- 153 Minutes
- Director
- David Yates
Cast
-
Harry Potter
-
Hermione Granger
WHERE TO WATCH
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, released in 2009, continues the saga of Harry Potter as he faces growing threats from Lord Voldemort. While navigating the complexities of teenage romance, Harry and Dumbledore seek crucial information to thwart Voldemort's plans, leading to pivotal encounters that alter the dynamics of Hogwarts.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is when the story really begins to set the stage for the Harry's big battle against Voldemort. It also marks the last time in the franchise with Harry as a Hogwarts student. The movie begins in 1996 with Harry returning for his sixth year at Hogwarts with an increased fear for his safety with Voldemort lurking around. Half-Blood Prince also sees Harry begin to learn more about Voldemort himself and the Horcruxes that could help defeat him.
The movie features several key flashbacks thanks to Dumbledore revisiting several of his own memories and interactions with a young Tom Riddle. This includes instances of Voldemort as an 11-year-old child, the same age Harry was when he was first brought to Hogwarts. As a sign of the characters getting older, romance among the students is also a bigger part of the plot in this installment. The movie ends with Harry and his friends agreeing they will not be returning to Hogwarts for their final year and will instead seek out the Horcruxes to destroy Voldemort.
The Harry Potter Books' 10 Best Plot Twists, Ranked
The Harry Potter books' best plot twists are shocking and serve the bigger story, including Scabbers' identity, Regulus' past, and Snape's betrayal.
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)
1997-1998
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Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows - Part 1
- Released
- November 16, 2010
- ESRB
- T // Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
- EA
- Publisher(s)
- EA
- Engine
- Bright Light Halogen
- Franchise
- Harry Potter
- Platform(s)
- Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 is the beginning of the end for the original Harry Potter series, as the film leaves Hogwarts behind and see Harry, Ron, and Hermione set off to try and discover the remaining Horcruxes and destroy them. With the seventh book split up into two films and Deathly Hallows – Part 1 is not taking over the course of a Hogwarts school year, it can be harder to determine when it takes place. However, the story kicks off in the summer of 1997 and continues on past Christmas and into 1998.
The fast-paced story of the penultimate Harry Potter movie is straightforward for the most part. While not an actual flashback, the movie does reveal a key bit of mythology in the story of the Three Brothers and the Elder Wand, which took place sometime before the 16th century.
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)
1998 & 2017
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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2
- Released
- July 12, 2011
- ESRB
- T // Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
- EA
- Publisher(s)
- EA
- Engine
- Bright Light Halogen
- Franchise
- Harry Potter
- Platform(s)
- Microsoft Windows, Wii
- How Long To Beat
- 5 hours
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 brings an end to the Harry Potter story, with this movie focusing on the students of Hogwarts and their allies gathering at the school to make one final stand against Voldemort and his forces. It is a movie filled with big moments for the classic characters of the franchise, with Harry stepping into his hero role, Ron and Hermione sharing their first kiss, and Draco finding his redemption. All of this leads up to the epic Battle of Hogwarts, which sees Harry vanquishing Voldemort once and for all.
The movie also features one of the most effective flashbacks of the entire franchise, with Snape sharing his memories as he dies, revealing the truth behind all of his motivations, his mission to protect Harry at all costs, and his enduring love for Lily Potter. While the showdown at the center of the movie takes up most of the runtime, keeping the setting in 1998, the story also wraps up with an epilogue.
The final scene takes place nearly two decades later, with Harry and his friends now adults in 2017. Harry is married to Ginny while Ron and Hermione are together. Bringing the story full circle, the now-grown Golden Trio sees their own children off to attend Hogwarts.
The Future Of The Harry Potter Franchise
The Fantastic Beasts movies failed to connect with audiences in the same way the Harry Potter movies did, leaving the franchise unfinished. However, that has not stopped the Harry Potter universe from continuing to grow with projects already expected in the future. The most notable continuation of the franchise will be with the new HBO series. However, rather than telling new stories, the Harry Potter show will be a retelling of the books, covering the same story as the movies, but presumably in greater detail.
With the show not covering any new material, it doesn't seem likely that there will be any change to the timeline that has been established and it will simply create its own new timeline that will likely be quite similar. However, a movie adaptation of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child could affect the timeline. Cursed Child began as a stage play, set following the events of The Deathly Hallows: Part 2's epilogue, dealing with Harry and Ginny's son Albus and a new generation of wizards.
While a movie is not confirmed, it seems like an inevitability that would serve as a reboot, mixing classic characters and new heroes, similar to Star Wars: The Force Awakens. However, while the Cursed Child movie would extend the current timeline of the Harry Potter franchise, going further into the future, it would also complicate things as the plot details Albus and the other young wizards using the Time Turner to go back to Hogwarts' past, which includes scenes featuring Snape and Dumbledore.
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a multimedia franchise about an orphaned boy who enrolls at Hogwarts School of Wizardry, where he learns the truth about himself, his family, and the terrible evil that haunts the magical world. Adapted from the novels, Harry Potter is an eight-episode film saga that follows the journey of Harry Potter and his friends, Hermoine Granger and Ron Weasley, as they navigate the tricky world of growing up, school life, and magic. Starting from year one and moving to their seventh year, the films chronicle the students' time at Hogwarts while unfurling a sinister plot that centers around the unsuspecting Harry. With the return of the dark wizard, Voldemort, the students and professors at Hogwarts will fight to carry on as the world around them may change forever. Harry Potter has expanded beyond the world of its films and novels with several video games, a spin-off film series titled Fantastic Beasts, and even attractions at Universal Studios.
- First Film
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
- Cast
- Mads Mikkelsen
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