A couple weeks ago, we reported that Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2 was already planning to take the story in a new direction. The script is already written and unless Fantastic Beasts is a massive bomb (which is unlikely), the studio is already planning to move ahead with the sequel.

Warner Bros. has announced that Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2 will be released on November 16, 2018. The date was previously held by “Untitled WB Event Film #1 (2018)” and Fantastic Beasts certainly fits the bill as an event film for the studio.

fantastic-beasts-and-where-to-find-them-eddie-redmayne-katherine-waterston
Image via Warner Bros.

As we reported, J.K. Rowling has already turned in the script for the sequel, which will continue to follow the adventures of magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne). David Yates, who directed the first Fantastic Beasts and will helm the second film, said of the script:

“We’ve seen the script for Part 2, for the second movie, which takes the story in a whole new direction – as you should, you don’t want to repeat yourself. The second movie introduces new characters as she builds this part of the Harry Potter universe further. It’s a very interesting development from where we start out. The work is pouring out of her.”

It will be interesting to see what kind of wizarding world Rowling and Yates have devised. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was well-received, so people are still clamoring for the Harry Potter universe and, again, unless Fantastic Beasts is a massive disappointment, they’ll like be clamoring for the sequel in a couple years. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them opens in theaters on November 18th and also stars Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Dan Fogler, Colin Farrell, and Ezra Miller.

Here’s the official synopsis for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them:

“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” is an all-new adventure returning us to the wizarding world created by J.K. Rowling. Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne stars in the central role of wizarding world magizoologist Newt Scamander, under the direction of David Yates, who helmed the last four “Harry Potter” blockbusters. The film opens in 1926 as Newt Scamander has just completed a global excursion to find and document an extraordinary array of magical creatures. Arriving in New York for a brief stopover, he might have come and gone without incident…were it not for a No-Maj (American for Muggle) named Jacob, a misplaced magical case, and the escape of some of Newt’s fantastic beasts, which could spell trouble for both the wizarding and No-Maj worlds.

fantastic-beasts-eddie-redmayne
Image via Warner Bros.
fantastic-beasts-and-where-to-find-them-dan-fogler
Image via Warner Bros.

fantastic-beasts-city-image
Image via Warner Bros.