EW – …David Yates confirms that having different cities in the first two films is actually two parts of a larger pattern that will continue through the remaining three movies.
“Yes,” Yates replied when asked if each film is set in a different city. “Jo’s already told us where the next one is taking place. It’s very exciting. This is a global story, ultimately. And given that there’s a global audience for this, it’s all the more delightful to take the story to different parts of the world.”
Just a quick note to start, I think it’s safe to say that in this case “city” would be synonymous with “country.” If they’re making a point to change the main setting for each movie, it’s doubtful the same country would be used twice as the primary location. But I love this idea. We got 8 movies of the magical world in and around London and now we are getting glimpses into different magical cultures around the globe. We had the U.S. in the first Fantastic Beasts and now Crimes of Grindelwald will be set in Paris. That leaves three movies for us to speculate on. Though it seems like a safe bet that the fifth and final Fantastic Beasts movie will give us plenty of time back in London. It’s all but guaranteed that the climactic event of the series will be the famed duel between Dumbledore and Grindelwald. We know the duel takes place in 1945 but the location of the duel has never been confirmed. While that leaves the possibility of literally anywhere in the world, London, or at least somewhere in England, would be the logical choice for the duel. However, a popular theory is that the duel took place in Germany, since there are many allusions to a German connection in Grindelwald’s story. Though it could be that the duel takes place in Germany but the bulk of the film is still set in London.
If we assume London for the fifth movie, where might the other two take place? Germany would seem like a strong contender. The aforementioned apparent ties between Germany and Grindelwald, along with the timing of much of the story coinciding with World War II, would make Germany a likely choice for the third or fourth film. But what about the fifth? Grindelwald’s reign was mostly throughout Europe, so another European location seems like the best bet. Athens or Rome would make for fun settings. Madrid or Barcelona could be possibilities as well. Even though it would stray from Europe, taking the characters to somewhere in Japan would be very interesting. I would love to see how the Japanese magical culture would be portrayed. But for me, ultimately the chosen cities don’t make much difference. As long as we get plenty of insight into how the particular magical community functions, I’m good with anything the creatives minds behind the series decides on.
Crimes of Grindelwald hits theaters on November 6th with the currently untitled third installment tentatively scheduled for release on November 20, 2020.
