Harry Potter Spinoff, Fantastic Beasts, To Have Bazillion Sequels
I get it. Franchising is the hot thing right now. Everyone wants their forever franchise like Star Wars or Marvel, and every new film can never just be itself, but rather its a jumping off point for the next film (that Fant4stic trilogy is still happening...right?). The Harry Potter property is probably as good a choice as you'll find for a forever franchise. Admittedly, I'm an unabashed fan of both the films and the books, and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them looks pretty great. It is as interesting an extension of the Potter world as Rogue One is for Star Wars. What becomes tiring, though, is the constant one-upsmanship studios seem to be having with their franchise announcements.
Marvel announced the next 8 films they are releasing? Okay, then DC is going to announce the next 12. James Cameron shouts from the rooftops to anyone who will listen that Avatar's new pair of simultaneously shot sequels is actually going to be a trilogy – no wait, a quadrilogy? Don't worry. J.K. Rowling announces that they are making the new Harry Potter film into a quintilogy (or is it a pentalogy?).
Today is the era of the nerd. Fanboys and fangirls everywhere are getting to see things up on the screen that just a short while ago seemed impossible. And that's great – mostly. Franchise fatigue is a real thing. As long as films like this are enjoyable, then we have nothing to worry about. But they won't all be great, and churning out products year after year can foster creative complacency. For every Harry Potter or Star Wars, there is a Pirates of the Caribbean or a Transformers that outstays its welcome by four or five sequels.
Honestly, think about how many film properties have made it beyond two or three entries, and then count how many of those have been as good with the latest entry as they had been at the beginning. Yeah.
For now, though, I wait for Fantastic Beasts with bated breath. David Yates was a smart directing choice who carries over some creative continuity from the Potter prime series without actually having to show Harry Potter. Hopefully, this announcement isn't just marketing-speak to boost a mediocre film's chances of success and the powers-who-shall-not-be-named are actually excited about the possibilities this world presents. In Rowling we trust, right?
