Production of FB3 paused due to COVID case on set

Feb 06, 2021

Posted by: Amanda Kirk

Fantastic Beasts Movie, Films, Movies, News

Filming of the third Fantastic Beasts film at Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden, Hertfordshire, has been suspended due to a positive COVID-19 test. All cast and crew members are tested regularly as part of the safety protocols that have enabled production to take place during the pandemic. Filming was originally to have commenced 16 March 2020 but was delayed until 20 September due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a spokesman for Warner Bros., “A team member from Fantastic Beasts 3 has tested positive for COVID-19. The diagnosis was confirmed as a result of required and ongoing testing that all production employees receive, and the team member is currently in isolation. Out of an abundance of caution, Fantastic Beasts 3 paused production and will be back up in accordance with safety guidelines.”

Details about the third film are scarce, but we know it is set partly in Rio De Janeiro and partly in Berlin, in the run-up to World War II. It is currently set to be released in July 2022. I don’t know about you, but I am desperate for some new Harry Potter material, and a year and a half feels like a loooooooong time to wait. It reminds me of the interminable wait between books. We filled that time with analysis and speculation. If you were a listener to PotterCast then, or a participant in the fora on this site, we speculated endlessly about whose side Snape was on and if was Harry a Horcrux. Some of the fan theories turned out to be amazingly prescient, but it was all wonderful food for thought. The books provided endless fodder for speculation. which was one of the many reasons that the series has been so enduringly and universally engaging. I cannot imagine what it must be like to be a fan who has picked up the series since Deathly Hallows was released in 2007. I am afraid that I would not sleep for a week if I could just keep reading all seven books at once! What an embarrassment of riches to have the whole series to devour at one go. I sort of wish people still had to wait a bit between books, to be forced to take the time to ponder the meaning and significance of each plot device before getting the answer in the next book.

What do you think is going to happen in the third film? Will Jacob and Queenie be reunited? Will they both even survive the events that lie ahead? What will Grindelwald and his followers do during World War II?We know that Dumbledore will ultimately defeat him, but he could do a lot of damage in the meantime. What role will the wizarding world play in wartime? How will it be affected by the horrific Muggle conflict? Will Newt and Tina have their first kiss? We do not know what will ultimately happen to Queenie and Jacob’s relationship so there is a great deal of suspense there about whether, and how, they might be reunited. But we know that Luna marries Newt and Tina’s grandson, the Magizoologist Rolf Scamander, which is comforting because it is not a question of whether they will get together, just how and when. Certainly there will be some false starts and misunderstandings to keep the tension high.





The Leaky Cauldron is not associated with J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., or any of the individuals or companies associated with producing and publishing Harry Potter books and films.