The second installment of the Fantastic Beastsfranchise with The Crimes of Grindelwald is now upon us in the movie theaters.
While the movie is on track to make plenty of money, it has received middling reviews criticizing its convoluted storyline, problematic racial tropes and endless retconning of the Potterverse canon.
The biggest flaw in Fantastic Beasts has always been its central character, Newt Scamander. Some fans wonder, out of all the subplots and storylines within the wizarding world, Warner Bros. and J.K. Rowling chose a shy magizoologist to anchor a five film series. Scamander is a wholly unremarkable character who the films try desperately to shoehorn into greater significance with diminishing returns.
At the end of the day, it’s hard to get invested in Newt’s adventures because he and his cohorts lack the agency and charisma of Harry Potter’s world. It’s especially confounding when you consider how many fascinating side characters and moments in wizarding history Rowling had to choose from. Here are five Potterverse spin-offs we think would be much more interesting than waching Newt chase after that damn niffler for the 50th time.
1. The Marauders
(image: Warner Bros.)
The Marauders have fascinated Potter fans ever since Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, when the Weasley twins gave Harry the enchanted map to navigate the halls of Hogwarts. The quartet is made up of four of the most interesting characters in the series, as Masters Mooney, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs were revealed to be Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black and James Potter. There’s plenty of Hogwarts-based adventure to be had with the foursome that would mirror the adventures of Harry and his friends, not to mention bringing in young Snape as an antagonist and following the love story of Lily and James. Seriously, what do we have to do to get a Marauders movie?
2. The Young Aurors
(image: Warner Bros.)
Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody (Brendan Gleeson) was one of the most notorious aurors of the wizarding world, defeating dark wizards and fighting with the Order of the Phoenix during the First and Second Wizarding Wars. Why not make an Untouchables-style film about Moody joining the aurors and recruiting an all-star team of wizards for the Ministry of Magic. Brendan Gleeson’s son Domhnall Gleeson could even play the younger version of the character, had he not already appeared in the franchise as Bill Weasley
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