Five years after the global phenomenon of Harry Potter concluded on the big screen, Warner Bros. sought to return audiences to J.K. Rowling’s beloved universe. The 2016 release of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was a charming, if uneven, reintroduction—a New York-set creature feature with a hidden heart of darkness. Its 2018 sequel, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald , promised to shed that cloak of mystery, diving headfirst into the global wizarding war hinted at in the first film.
James Newton Howard’s score remains underrated. He weaves the Fantastic Beasts theme with dark variations of Hedwig’s Theme , creating a soundscape that feels both nostalgic and foreboding. The highlight is the "Spread the Word" sequence, where Grindelwald’s blue fire dragon arcs over Paris. No discussion of this film is complete without the twist . In the final minutes, Grindelwald reveals to Credence that his true name is Aurelius Dumbledore —and that his brother, Albus, wants him dead. Fantastic Beasts- The Crimes of Grindelwald
"The thing about being in the darkness with someone... is that you eventually become the darkness." — Albus Dumbledore Five years after the global phenomenon of Harry