Fantastic Beasts 2

We’ve got a good news, bad news situation here, friends. First, the good news — which is actually great news: An official casting announcement for the sequel to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them has apparated online, revealing several new and returning cast members for Newt Scamander’s next adventure. Among the newcomers are a pair of mysterious roles played by Jessica Williams and Claudia Kim.

Last year’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them left some questions unanswered — namely, where to find the fantastic beasts. The film never made good on the explicit promise of its title, its best guess at where the fantastic beasts might be located landing somewhere around “all over the place.” As such, a sequel was all but necessary, in the hopes that it can finally clarify the movements and settling patterns of fantastic beasts. (That, and the first movie made over $800 million.) And as principal photography got rolling in England this morning, new plot details and casting notices have been made public, though none brings us any closer to a workable knowledge of fantastic beasts, and/or where to find them.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is going to launch a new Harry Potter franchise whether you like it or not. The next installment will dive a little bit deeper into Newt Scamander’s past and also flesh out Dumbledore’s backstory and how it all connects to the beginnings of Voldemort. We already know that Newt has a very important ex, but apparently he also has a family, as his brother is currently being cast.

Ever since Albus Dumbledore was name-dropped in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, we’ve been anxiously awaiting word of who might play the young version of everyone’s favorite wise old wizard. Given the (mostly) excellent casting for the first film in the new Harry Potter spinoff franchise, we knew it had to be someone good. Warner Bros. definitely didn’t disappoint, as the studio has tapped Jude Law to play the younger iteration of the future headmaster of Hogwart’s in the Fantastic Beasts sequel.

Zoe Kravitz was one of the surprise additions to the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them cast, and even more surprising when it was revealed in the movie that she plays Newt Scamander’s former love interest Leta Lestrange. She’s not in that movie for very long (not much more than a shot), but she’ll have a much bigger role in the sequels as the relationship between her and Newt is explored further.

If there is any silver lining to the quagmire of sadness and disappointment that was 2016, it might just be the overdue recognition of Jared Harris as one of the better talents of the last two decades. Like many incredibly talented actors who don’t fit neatly into the Hollywood mold of the leading man, Harris has spent his career bouncing around as supporting characters and weirdos before finally finding his niche as a middle-aged heavyweight. Call it the Michael Caine career path if you want, but either way, it ends with us finally giving an extremely talented actor his full measure.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them made no secret of the fact that though it takes place an ocean and almost a century away, it’s still deeply tied to the Harry Potter universe. Johnny Depp plays the dark wizard Grindelwald, the Voldemort before Voldemort, in this movie and its sequels, and director David Yates is already casting for Dumbledore for the sequel, who we know used to be Grindelwald’s friend. Another character with close ties to Newt Scamander will appear in the Fantastic Beasts sequel, and bring the magizoologist’s past back with them. (Be warned: SPOILERS for Fantastic Beasts are contained in the following paragraphs.)

Fans love consistency. That’s part of what has made the Marvel Cinematic Universe such a hit: each movie has the same comfort level as our dogeared childhood copies of Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew novels. Even when the names behind the camera change, we can be assured of the same familiar faces, the same balance of humor and solemnity, the same polished veneer regardless of character. But while Marvel may choose to have multiple directors adhere to their famous house style, it seems that Warner Bros. has gone a different route with the Harry Potter universe: just have one person shoot the whole darn thing.

J.K. Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them won’t just be a five-part return to the magical world of the Harry Potter movies; it has the potential to be groundbreaking for Hollywood diversity.

The rumors are true: not only will Johnny Depp have a role in the upcoming Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, as well as being cast in the sequel, the mystery character he’s playing is none other than Gellert Grindelwald, Albus Dumbledore’s friend/crush-turned-sworn-enemy back when both wizards were young and full of ambition.