Director David Yates taking a break from the Potterverse

Warner Bros. has told David Yates that there will be a break between the third and fourth Fantastic Beasts films, giving him the opportunity to work on something completely different. He may be enjoying that opportunity, but this break is worrying. We have waited so long for the third film, after so many delays due to casting issues and the pandemic, that we want the fourth film to follow swiftly on its heels.

According to Deadline, Yates will be directing a film for Sony Pictures with a screenplay by Wells Tower. Lawrence Grey of Grey Matter Productions is producing the film, with Yates’ own Wychwood Media co-producing. Deadline says the plot will concern the pharmaceutical industry’s role in the opioid epidemic. It sounds extremely depressing, and marks a radical departure from the film world of Harry Potter for Yates. Disney’s Tarzan is the only non-Potter-related film he has directed in the past decade. Yates joined the Potter film franchise for the fifth film, Order of the Phoenix, and has directed every Potter film since. If the deal goes through for this opioid crisis movie, filming could commence in the spring. I hope we get some good news about Fantastic Beasts 4 by then. It is possible that Warner Bros. is waiting on the reception of the third film before committing to a budget for the fourth.