Will there be a Fantastic Beasts 4?

JK Rowling outlined back in 2016 that the Fantastic Beasts franchise would comprise five films in total, but there's been some rather negative updates on the project since then that have left the future of the franchise looking far from certain.

Read on for everything we know so far about a potential Fantastic Beasts 4 – including which cast members we could expect to return.

Will there be a Fantastic Beasts 4?

There's quite a lot of bad news on this front.

Back in 2023, David Yates, who directed all three films, revealed that the franchise had been parked following the release of the third movie, which was released in 2022.

Jude Law, who played a young Dumbledore in two Fantastic Beasts movies, told Variety in a recent interview that the upcoming television series based on JK Rowling’s seven novels most likely means there won’t be a Fantastic Beasts 4.

"I know it’s certainly on hold,” Law said about the future of the franchise. “My guess would be that, now that they’re doing Harry Potter as a TV show, they’ll probably put their energy into that. I certainly haven’t heard that there’s anything on the horizon."

Meanwhile, in a recent interview with ComicBook.com, Eddie Redmayne also said audiences have likely seen the last of Newt Scamander, the character he portrayed in the Fantastic Beasts film series.

“I think they probably have [seen the last of Newt],” Redmayne said. “That was a very frank answer, but yeah. And that’s as far as I know. I mean, you’d have to speak to the people at Warner Bros. and JK Rowling, but as far as I know, that’s it.”

So, things aren't looking great for the future of the franchise. But as ever, we'll keep you in the loop as soon as any further developments are made public – so keep checking back for the latest information.

Who could appear in a potential Fantastic Beasts 4 cast?

With the project currently parked, but if a fourth film were to materialise, we can be all but certain that most of the main stars would be back for the next outing.

Expect to see more, then, of Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander, Jude Law as Albus Dumbledore, Mads Mikkelsen as Gellart Grindelwald, Dan Fogler as Jacob Kowalski and Alison Studol as Queenie Goldstein.

As for Ezra Miller's Credence, the future is a little more uncertain. The character appeared to be dying towards the end of the third film, so it's possible they might not return in the next chapter.

Meanwhile, after being largely absent from the third entry, Katherine Waterston might be given a more substantial role in the next film – especially given her appearance at the end of Secrets of Dumbledore.

Other stars we'd expect to be in line for a return include Callum Turner as Theseus Scamander, Jessica Williams as Professor Eulalie "Lally" Hicks, William Nadylam as Yusuf Kama, Victoria Yeates as Bunty Broadacre, Poppy Corby-Tuech as Vinda Rosier and Richard Coyle as Aberforth Dumbledore.

And it's highly probable there would be some new additions as well – perhaps some might even play familiar characters from the Wizarding World.

What could the plot of a potential Fantastic Beasts 4 be?

With the future of the franchise up in the air, it's difficult to speculate what the plot might be in a fourth instalment – unless someone is in possession of a Quilin like the one that gave Grindelwald future-telling abilities in The Secrets of Dumbledore.

But we can safely assume that the next chapter would continue to explore the ongoing battle between Grindelwald and Dumbledore, especially now that the blood pact that previously prevented them from duelling has been broken.

We'd also expect to see magical beasts continuing to play crucial roles – with more fantastical creatures likely to be introduced as well.

When more information becomes available, we'll post it right here.

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