As if fans weren't worried enough about the future of the Fantastic Beasts franchise after the lukewarm reception given to Crimes of Grindelwald, there have been reports in recent days that the third movie has been delayed.
This happened after Warner Bros confirmed that Dune would be released on November 20, 2020, a date that everyone assumed was set aside for Fantastic Beasts 3.
But here's the thing: it was never actually confirmed.
Back in August 2014, Warner Bros set two release dates for "Untitled WB Event Film" on November 16, 2018 and November 20, 2020. At the time we knew that we were getting three Fantastic Beasts movies (which later turned into five), so it made sense that after the first movie launched in November 2016, the other two would get November releases.
That theory was seemingly confirmed when Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald took that first "Untitled WB Event Film" slot in 2018. It was never official, however. The release schedule continued to say that November 20, 2020 was an "Untitled WB Event Film" until Dune was confirmed.
The news led to some overblown reactions that it signalled the third movie was in trouble because it had been delayed. But it's hard to be delayed when you haven't even got a deadline.
What to Read Next
What is true is that Warner Bros pushed back the start of production on the third movie from July 2019 to late autumn. Deadline reported that it was because they were keen not to rush the movie into production, something that star Dan Fogler backed up.
"We start [filming] in the fall. The movie is going to be gigantic," Fogler explained. "The reason we were given is that the movie is bigger than the first two combined. They needed more time to prep and they didn’t want to rush anything so they pushed it back."
And, really, is that such a bad thing?
Surely it's better for Warner Bros to take their time and release Fantastic Beasts 3 in, say, 2021 than rush out a sub-par third movie just to keep the November run going. The last thing the Fantastic Beasts series needs is another 'it's OK' movie whose only purpose is to set up the next one.
If the date shift helps create the first truly great Fantastic Beasts movie, then we're all for it. Going by Warner Bros' release-date calendar though, it does mean we'll probably have to wait until 2021.
The only other "Untitled WB Event Film" slot in 2020 is August 7, which feels too soon, so we'll more likely be waiting for one of the 2021 dates, currently January 15 and February 12. That doesn't rule out a November 2021 launch for Fantastic Beasts 3 either, it's just that Warner Bros doesn't yet have a slot confirmed for then yet.
But just because Fantastic Beasts 3 doesn't have a release date yet, that doesn't mean it's in trouble. You just might have to wait a bit, that's all.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is released on March 9 for its digital edition and March 18 for 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray and DVD.
Want up-to-the-minute entertainment news and features? Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @digitalspy Instagram and Twitter account.
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
