LEGO Systems, Inc. has announced a collection of LEGO building sets and collectibles inspired by The Wizarding World, bringing the film worlds of both Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts to life in LEGO form! More information on the sets can be read in this press release:
The LEGO Wizarding World-inspired building sets call on families’ creativity and imagination to recreate the action-packed storylines from the films and feature a cast of fan-favorite wizards, Muggles and magical creatures in LEGO form – from Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger to Newt Scamander and more. Fans of all ages will also be able to collect their favorite Wizarding World characters in new LEGO BrickHeadz building sets.
During the annual Toy Fair in New York, the LEGO Group will unveil a special sneak peek of the LEGO Harry Potter Hogwarts™ Great Hall ($99.99) building set, which will launch August 1st. Additional building sets and figures will launch in the second half of the year, with more details to come soon.
Jill Wilfert, vice president, licensing and entertainment for the LEGO Group said, “When it first launched in 2001, LEGO Harry Potter was a global sellout due to its broad appeal and ability to spark imaginative play, so we’re thrilled to go deeper into the Wizarding World to bring even more magic and excitement to LEGO play. The Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts stories are perfectly suited to construction play, and our designers cannot wait for fans to see how the films are reimagined in our new collection of building sets and collectibles.”
Maryellen Zarakas, senior vice president of franchise management & marketing for WBCP said, “Together with our long-standing partners at the LEGO Group, we’re excited to bring Harry Potter back into LEGO form and expand the world with the addition of Fantastic Beasts sets. These new sets allow us to strengthen the emotional connection our fans have with the Wizarding World as they bring to life their favorite characters and memories from the films.”
The first of these sets, inspired by Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is being revealed at the New York Toy Fair this weekend. LEGO have sent over a preview of the castle set. Photos May be seen below:
Several new photos from Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald have been released by Warner Bros! The photos show Newt, Tina, Jacob, Gellert Grindelwald, Young Dumbledore and more! We even get a peek at a new character, Vinda Rosier…perhaps a relation to a certain Death Eater in Voldemort’s day. See all the photos in high resolution in the gallery!
Only time will tell what is happening in these photos, and we can’t wait! Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald hits theaters on November 16th this year!
First up is Jude Law looking as young Albus Dumbledore in what looks to be Dumbledore’s Office as Headmaster of Hogwarts.
The first shot of Newt Scamander and Tina Goldstein, played by Katherine Waterston, together.
A new photo of Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander looking at a postcard from Paris.
The last brand new photo shows Johnny Depp as Gellert Grindelwald along with a new character. Poppy Corby-Tuech plays Vinda Rosier, one of Grindelwald’s followers.
This next photo is a high resolution version of an image we posted last year. It shows Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander reunited with Dan Fogler’s Jacob Kowalski as they walk the streets of 1920s Paris.
A higher resolution version of a previously released photo of Newt in what looks to be a sewer.
Another photo we’ve seen previously shows Jude Law and Eddie Redmayne off-duty in their 1920s costumes.
A brief press release from Warner Bros. can be read below:
At the end of the first film, the powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) was captured by MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States of America), with the help of Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne). But, making good on his threat, Grindelwald escaped custody and has set about gathering followers, most unsuspecting of his true agenda: to raise pure-blood wizards up to rule over all non-magical beings.
In an effort to thwart Grindelwald’s plans, Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) enlists his former student Newt Scamander, who agrees to help, unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. Lines are drawn as love and loyalty are tested, even among the truest friends and family, in an increasingly divided wizarding world.
The film features an ensemble cast led by Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, with Jude Law and Johnny Depp. The cast also includes , Zoë Kravitz, Callum Turner, Claudia Kim, William Nadylam, Kevin Guthrie, Carmen Ejogo, and Poppy Corby-Tuech.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is directed by David Yates, from a screenplay by J.K. Rowling. The film is produced by David Heyman, J.K. Rowling, Steve Kloves and Lionel Wigram.
Slated for release on November 16, 2018, the film will be distributed worldwide in 2D and 3D in select theatres and IMAX by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.
Jude Law spoke with Entertainment Tonight about Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindlewald while at the Golden Globes last night. While speaking about how he prepared for his role as Young Albus Dumbledore, he said:
“Do you know what I did? I sat in a room for an afternoon with J.K. Rowling, and I listened to her extraordinary words of wisdom,” Law said of the Harry Potter scribe. “She was kind enough to share with me the whole backstory and her future hopes for this young character of Dumbledore and really that set me on the path. I just did what the writer said.”
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald will be arriving in theaters November 2018.
Total Film magazine has released a brand new promotional photo from Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald that is featured in their new issue. The photo features Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) and Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) walking through the streets of 1920s Paris. See the photo in high resolution in the gallery!
The photo in question shows returning magizoologist Newt Scamander (played once again by Eddie Redmayne) alongside trusted Muggle companion Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler), striding across the streets of what appears to be 1920s’ Paris (check out the french language signage and bicycle baskets).
It may be a single still, but this pic already throws up several questions about what we can expect from the movie, which has been penned by J.K. Rowling herself. What’s in Jacob’s basket? Why does Newt look so anxious? And what’s brought them to the city of love? Given the title, I reckon another one of those pesky beasts has gotten loose.
You can read more about Fantastic Beasts 2 in this month’s issue of Total Film magazine, on sale December 22. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is currently set for release on November 16, 2018. Three more films will follow it.
Entertainment Weekly has released two new photos from Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald as part of an exclusive first look! They have also shared a snippet of their interview with Newt Scamander actor Eddie Redmayne. The full interview, with hopefully more photos, will be in the First Look issue of Entertainment Weekly, on newsstands Friday.
The first photo shows Newt (Eddie Redmayne) in a sewer tunnel system, while the second is a behind the scenes shot of Eddie Redmayne and Jude Law who will be playing young Albus Dumbledore.
In the interview, Eddie reveals that he’s suffering from “Wand Shoulder Strain.”
“It’s from doing some quite hardcore wand action,” Redmayne says of the magical world’s characteristic spell-casting gestures, “but I’m not getting any better for it.”
The article also reveals a bit more about the plot of the film:
The second of a planned five tales shifts the action across the pond to Paris, as Newt teams with his favorite Hogwarts professor Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) to hunt down the nefarious wizard Gillert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) — though that’s really just a portion of screenwriter J.K. Rowling’s sprawling story, which introduces several new characters (such as Newt’s ex-love Leta Lestrange played by Zoe Kravitz) along with bringing back familiar faces from 2016’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them (like Newt’s American love interest Tina Goldstein played by Katherine Waterston).
“The first film had a level of whimsy; the characters felt like children in grown-up bodies,” notes director David Yates. “In this movie, it gets grittier and more nuanced and detailed. It’s quite a romantic film, it’s a thriller, it’s quite an interesting combination of genres you rarely see together. I think it will surprise people.”
Today’s the day! Warner Bros. have released the title and first teaser trailer for the second Fantastic Beasts film! View the teaser below and enjoy! The heroes. The villains. The magic. In one year, return to the Wizarding World with Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald!
Left to Right: Jude Law plays a young Albus Dumbledore, taking on the mantle of one of J.K. Rowling’s most beloved characters; Ezra Miller makes a return as the enigmatic Credence, whose fate was unknown at the end of the first film; Claudia Kim appears as a Maledictus, the carrier of a blood curse that destines her ultimately to transform into a beast; Zoë Kravitz plays Leta Lestrange, who had once been close to Newt Scamander but is now engaged to his brother; Callum Turner joins the cast as Newt’s older brother, Theseus Scamander, a celebrated war hero and the Head of the Auror Office at the British Ministry of Magic; Katherine Waterston returns as Tina Goldstein, who has been reinstated as an Auror for MACUSA; Eddie Redmayne stars again as wizarding world Magizoologist Newt Scamander, who has now gained fame in the wizarding world as the author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them; Dan Fogler reprises the role of the only No-Maj in the group, Jacob Kowalski; Alison Sudol reprises the part of Tina’s free-spirited sister, Queenie Goldstein, a Legilimens who can read minds; and Johnny Depp returns as the powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD.”
The press release also includes a short description of the sequel to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them:
At the end of the first film, the powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Depp) was captured by MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States of America), with the help of Newt Scamander (Redmayne). But, making good on his threat, Grindelwald escaped custody and has set about gathering followers, most unsuspecting of his true agenda: to raise pure-blood wizards up to rule over all non-magical beings.
In an effort to thwart Grindelwald’s plans, Albus Dumbledore (Law) enlists his former student Newt Scamander, who agrees to help, unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. Lines are drawn as love and loyalty are tested, even among the truest friends and family, in an increasingly divided wizarding world.
“FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD” is being directed by David Yates, from a screenplay by J.K. Rowling, and produced by David Heyman, J.K. Rowling, Steve Kloves and Lionel Wigram.
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