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Ever since The Crimes of Grindelwald turned out to be the lowest-grossing and worst-reviewed installment in the entire Wizarding World expanded universe, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore has been pinpointed as a make-or-break moment for the prequel series.
Nobody asked for five mega budget blockbusters based on a slim fictional textbook that was originally written solely to raise money for charity, but Warner Bros. decided to give them to us anyway. It would help if Fantastic Beasts had enjoyed nothing but plain sailing throughout its existence, but that certainly hasn’t been the case.
If it isn’t the backlash over Johnny Depp being fired and replaced by Mads Mikkelsen, then it’s J.K. Rowling putting her foot in her mouth virtually every time she opens it, with Ezra Miller generating headlines for all the wrong reasons once again after being arrested for disorderly conduct.
On the plus side, the first reactions to The Secrets of Dumbledore have made their way online following last night’s premiere, and it sounds as though David Yates has managed to drag the franchise out of the mire to a certain extent.
The real test will be how high The Secrets of Dumbledore flies at the box office, especially with the pandemic still a factor. Throw in the planned boycotts being touted by Depp supporters and Rowling detractors alike, and it’ll be very interesting to see how the 11th installment in the fantasy saga fares among the general public.
It would be a disaster were Warner Bros. to end up taking a severe financial hit, and may even raise questions about the concluding fourth and fifth chapters, which don’t even have scripts yet.