Back when I first watched the 2014 film, The Theory of Everything, besides just thinking it was a good movie, I – like many others, I assume – merely thought of it as “The Stephen Hawking Movie.”

And, why shouldn't I? Eddie Redmayne, who portrayed Hawking in the film, won an Academy Award for his performance, and the movie details how he came up with many of the theories that made him a household name. In every way, even though the title was The Theory of Everything, the focus was purely on Hawking.

At least, that's what I initially thought. But, upon a rewatch, I found it to be so much more than just that. Unlike many films and TV shows that leave me feeling like something is just missing when concerning stories about the disabled, I feel that The Theory of Everything handles it with nuance. Not just for the person who is disabled, but also for the people in his life. Let me explain.

Watching The Progression Of Hawking's Disability Reveals That It Could Happen To Anybody

One of my former coworkers (I’m a teacher outside of writing for this website) had a husband who had Lou Gehrig's Disease, which is also known as ALS. Knowing that it was such a sensitive subject, I gathered the courage one day to ask her how he was doing, and she told me that it was a struggle every day.

It was hard asking her since I had never heard of anybody having ALS before, so I knew so little about it. Then the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge went viral, and it seemed like everybody was talking about the rare disease. This raised a great deal of awareness nationwide, but it also made me realize that anybody could get it, even me, since it’s still not entirely known what causes it.

So, having this information stored away in my brain, I rewatched The Theory of Everything with a new sense of awareness. At the beginning of the film, Stephen Hawking seems to have it all. He’s already a genius at Cambridge – though he’s struggling to come up with a thesis – he’s dating a beautiful woman (Played by Felicity Jones, whose determination in this film is surprisingly not too different from Jyn Erso from my favorite Star Wars movie, Rogue One), and he has a good circle of friends.

But then, he starts losing control of his balance, and he receives the diagnosis of having MND (Motor Neuron Disease – which is ALS here in the States). His brain will still function, sure, but his body will deteriorate, and possibly rapidly. They give him two years to live.

Now, here you have this genius whose mind can imagine how the universe came to be, and yet, there’s nothing he can do about his disability. As the movie continues, his MND gets progressively worse (Though he lives long past the two-year life expectancy), until he’s in a wheelchair and can’t even verbally speak anymore. And yet, he never lets it deter him from greatness. Even so, this movie teaches that nobody is immune to illness. It’s a sobering thought, but a very real one.

It Is Also Intriguing To Watch How People Respond To His Disability

When I first watched this movie, I was mainly focused on Stephen Hawking. However, while I rewatched it, I focused a great deal on the other people around Hawking and how they responded to his disease.

For instance, in the scene where Hawking receives his diagnosis from the doctor (Played by Adam Godley), you get a sense that the doctor is doing his best to deliver the news that Hawking will die young, but also a sense that the doctor is well aware that there is nothing he can do about it, so it’s delivered like he’s already talking to a dead man.

When Hawking later goes to discuss his thesis while using dual canes, the first question he is asked is whether he would like to take a seat, which he declines, only to be asked again.

This is something I notice in my own behavior whenever I find myself around somebody in a wheelchair. I run to the door and open it for them, and they say thank you. Still, I always wonder what impression I’m giving, and if they would prefer that I didn’t do this and would rather just open the door for themselves. They probably get this all the time, and I hope that they don’t view my desire to help as a sign that I don’t think they’re able to do it themselves. I would hate that.

But, back to the movie. In a later scene, we see Hawking struggling to speak, and it’s almost like people are talking around him, as if he’s both in the room, but also not in the room. This was actually harder for me to watch a second time since I could only imagine how Stephen Hawking must have felt as his wife discussed his theories to somebody else for him. It’s a really powerful movie, especially when, as I mentioned earlier, ALS could happen to anybody. But, about Hawking’s wife…

His Wife's Effort To Come To Grips With His Struggle Feels Universal

Now, even though the movie is adapted from the memoir, Traveling to Infinity: My Life With Stephen, which was written by his ex-wife, Jane Hawking, I’ve read that the film takes some creative liberties…and doesn’t entirely give his wife a fair shake. Be that as it may, I really only have the movie to go off of since I haven’t read the memoir, and the Jane in this film handles Hawking’s ALS much in the same way that I imagine my former coworker did.

By that, I mean being as supportive as humanly possible. Because all throughout the film, Jane does her best for her husband. She marries him, even despite knowing his diagnosis, and has children with him, even though he could die at any time. When a doctor gives her a way out and says that they can disconnect him from a ventilator, she refuses.

She even comes up with a way for him to communicate once he loses the ability to speak verbally. It almost reminds me of the Brian Wilson movie, Love & Mercy, in that the woman in Brian’s life, Melinda Ledbetter, seemed to move Heaven and Earth to get her partner out of the slump he found himself in amidst overwhelming odds.

Then, Hawking has an affair with his nurse, and his wife, who says she “did her best,” goes back to a man named Jonathan (played by Daredevil’s Charlie Cox), whom she also loves. You really do feel that Jane did everything possible for Stephen. After a while, she became more caregiver than wife, and both she and Stephen recognized that their relationship had gone down that route.

I knew Felicity Jones did a great job the first time I watched this movie (She did get nominated for an Oscar, after all), but it was only upon this second viewing that I truly saw that this is just as much her story as it is Stephen’s.

Seeing The Great Things That He Accomplished Is Reaffirming That People Will Always Be More Than Their Disability

Lastly, if there’s any final takeaway from this film, it’s that you can be diagnosed with a terminal, terrifying disease, and still change the world, which is extremely reaffirming.

I think back to the ice bucket challenge, and how it grew so big that even celebrities started doing it. It all started from a humble place, as Anthony Senerchia, who has unfortunately since passed, was diagnosed with ALS, and he and his wife got the ball rolling on getting people to start talking about the disease.

As I said earlier, I only knew one person who knew another person who had ALS, but in 2014 (Which was the same year The Theory of Everything came out) it seemed like everybody was talking about it, and it mostly sprung up because of a husband who had the disease, and a wife who wanted others to know, and possibly help.

And this movie also proves that a person who has a disability is always more than just their disability. Yes, it is a part of who they are, but it is not ALL they are. Stephen Hawking is world-renowned, and he did most of it from his wheelchair.

In the end, it’s a story about overcoming the odds that might exist even inside of you, and still prevailing. That’s a message that I think anybody can learn from.

Charlie Cox’s career continues to thrive, particularly for being on the 2025 TV schedule for his return as Daredevil on Disney+, but it wasn’t a straight and narrow path for the actor to find success. Did you know that when Cox was trying to come up in Hollywood, he lived in a house with Jamie Dornan, Robert Pattinson, Eddie Redmayne and Andrew Garfield? Cox recalled the time the five Brits were all struggling to get auditions together, and it’s pretty wild that they all made it.

Except apparently they all didn’t make it. While talking about the time (circa 2008) when Cox was living with a group of future movie stars, he mentioned “there was actually another guy” who would hang with them who didn’t make the big time. Awkward. He wouldn’t elaborate on the nameless old pal, but he did reminisce on being in Los Angeles with the guys. In his words:

When Cox stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live earlier this month, he talked about how the actors would all help each other audition for “all the same parts” and then keep tabs on who heard back about the parts and who didn’t. When Kimmel asked him which of the group kind of broke through first, Cox said this:

The truth of it is there ended up being parts to go around for all five of them during that time that helped them become the successful actors each of them are. For Cox, he got 2007’s Stardust alongside Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer before nabbing a role on Boardwalk Empire a few years later.

Jamie Dornan’s first movie was in Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antionette before striking big on Once Upon A Time ahead of The Fall and Fifty Shades Of Grey. Redmayne was in Elizabeth: The Golden Age and The Other Boleyn Girl early on. Pattinson, of course, got Twilight, and Andrew Garfield got big in the 2010s with The Social Network and The Amazing Spider-Man after doing a few indie films.

Andrew Garfield previously talked about the group of guys, saying they are “still very close” and “sincerely fully support each other” in life as they continue to all lead lives they can surely relate to. Technically Cox’s Daredevil and Garfield’s Spider-Man were in the same movie via Spider-Man: No Way Home, but not in the same scene. They weren’t in the Avengers: Doomsday cast reveal either, but how cool would it be if the fellow Marvel stars got to share the screen?

While Cox was in Los Angeles for Jimmy Kimmel Live, he also said he ran into Redmayne and ended up having an impromptu hangout with him to catch up. How sweet is this group of friends-turned-stars? Here’s hoping they get to work together (or at least reunite to recreate their photo) soon.

The Academy Award for Best Actor has been handed out every year since 1929 — fun fact, it was awarded to German actor Emil Jannings for not one but two acclaimed roles, in The Last Command and The Way of All Flesh — and in the near-century since, it's been presented 97 times to 86 actors. But while taking home that coveted statuette is definitely a career highlight for any performer, the honor does add a little extra pressure on the actor's next project. Will it be as beloved and acclaimed as the role that won them the gold? Here are 32 films that Oscar-winning actors did after taking home the Academy Award, and how they were received.

Cillian Murphy

After the enormity of portraying famed physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan's billion-dollar blockbuster Oppenheimer, and taking home the 2024 Oscar for Best Actor in the process, Cillian Murphy went small for his next film — literally. In the 2024 adaptation of Claire Keegan's Small Things Like These, Murphy returned to his native Ireland to play Bill, a quiet coal merchant and father of five internally struggling with the harsh realities of the infamous Magdalene Laundries. While Murphy didn't replicate the awards dominance of Oppenheimer with SMTLT, his internal and affecting performance was widely praised by critics.

Joaquin Phoenix

After four nominations throughout his decades-spanning career, Joaquin Phoenix finally took home that Best Actor statue in 2020 for his engrossing portrayal of the nihilistic clown Arthur Fleck in Todd Phillips' Joker. Following that iconic role, Phoenix next appeared in the 2021 Mike Mills dramedy C'mon C'mon, an improv-heavy performance that saw the actor play a middle-aged radio journalist tasked with babysitting his nephew (Woody Norman) while on the road for work. Phoenix was nominated for Outstanding Lead Performance at the Gotham Awards, and the film was chosen by the National Board of Review as one of the Top 10 Independent Films of the year.

Will Smith

Will Smith had quite an, um, eventful evening when he took home the Oscar for Best Actor in 2022 for King Richard after two prior nominations (Ali, The Pursuit of Happyness). Winning an Oscar means that a spotlight is already bright on an actor, but the added publicity from the ceremony means his post-slap comeback would be even more scrutinized than usual. His follow-up was 2022's Emancipation, in which he played a runaway slave in 1860s Louisiana. Though the drama received mixed reviews overall, Smith won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture for his performance.

Anthony Hopkins

Though he's garnered six Oscar nominations across his illustrious acting career — with his most recent win being for 2021's The Father — Anthony Hopkins' first Academy Award was for that scene-stealing villain, psychiatrist turned serial killer Hannibal Lector in 1991's The Silence of the Lambs. Following up such an iconic performance is no small task and unfortunately, Hopkins' next film, 1992's Freejack opposite Emilio Estevez and Mick Jagger, was a sci-fi dud, bombing both with critics and audiences. During an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, Hopkins himself called the film "terrible."

Leonardo DiCaprio

Five-time nominee Leonardo DiCaprio had a bit of "always the bridesmaid" syndrome where the Academy Awards were concerned, until he finally took home the Best Actor Oscar for his emotionally raw and physically punishing performance in Alejandro G. Iñárritu's 2019 Western epic The Revenant. His next big-screen role was, graciously, a bit less cold and blustery, trading the frosty American Midwest for starry Los Angeles in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The latter received 10 Oscar nominations at the 92nd Academy Awards, including a nod for DiCaprio's individual work.

Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington had already taken home a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for playing a Civil War soldier in the 1989 war drama Glory, but he got his first big Best Actor win for portraying corrupt LAPD officer Alonzo Harris in the 2001 crime thriller Training Day. His next performance was another memorable Denzel role: as the title character in the 2002 Nick Cassavetes-directed drama John Q, which saw Washington play a desperate father who takes a hospital emergency room hostage in order for his son to receive a heart transplant. Alas, despite some praise for Denzel's performance, the film itself boasts only a 26% critics' rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Robert De Niro

Six years after taking home the Best Supporting Actor statue for The Godfather Part II, Robert De Niro got his Best Actor win for his iconic and intense work as boxing champion Jake LaMotta in Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull. A year later, De Niro put away the boxing gloves and picked up the Bible to play a Roman Catholic monsignor in 1981's True Confessions, opposite fellow The Godfather great Robert Duvall. Though reviews for the neo-noir were largely positive, the National Review's William F. Buckley, Jr. panned it: "Robert De Niro is badly miscast. He is never entirely convincing."

Matthew McConaughey

After acclaimed turns in 2011's Lincoln Lawyer and 2012's Magic Mike, the so-called "McConaissance" was officially solidified a year later with Matthew McConaughey's Oscar-winning portrayal of Ron Woodroof, a cowboy diagnosed with AIDS, in the biopic Dallas Buyers Club. Despite not having nearly as much screentime, the actor's next performance was just as memorable: a chest-thumping, meme-inducing extended cameo as Mark Hanna in Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street.

Tom Hanks

Beyond being one of the most beloved actors of all time, Tom Hanks also holds a piece of cinema history: he's one of only two actors to win back-to-back Academy Awards for acting. Yes, that means after taking home the Best Actor Oscar for his heart-wrenching performance as HIV-positive lawyer Andrew Beckett in 1994's Philadelphia, Hanks struck Oscar gold yet again with his very next performance, as the titular lead of 1995's Forrest Gump.

Rami Malek

Rami Malek belted his way to an Oscar as legendary Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in the glossy 2019 biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. His first post-award performance also revolved around his voice — voice acting, that is, as Malek portrayed a mountain gorilla named Chee-Chee in the 2020 fantasy-adventure film Dolittle, with his future Oppenheimer co-star Robert Downey Jr. as the titular doc. The family-friendly flick received abysmal reviews from critics, with Courtney Howard of Variety writing: "What should have been an awe-filled adventure quickly curdles into an awful one, thanks to a pedestrian formula and the filmmakers' fixation on fart jokes."

Adrien Brody

In 2003, Adrien Brody made Oscar history when he won the Academy Award for Best Actor at age 29 for his portrayal of Władysław Szpilman in Roman Polanski's war drama The Pianist, becoming the youngest actor ever to win in that category. Later that year, he followed up his historic win with the musical crime comedy The Singing Detective, about a mystery writer (Robert Downey Jr.) who relives his detective stories through his imagination and hallucinations. The film scored a 39% "Rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Jamie Foxx

Jamie Foxx had one hell of a 2004, serving up not one but two award-worthy performances: He took home the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as soul great Ray Charles in the 2004 biopic Ray and also received a Best Supporting Actor nod that same year for his work in the crime film Collateral. It would be near-impossible for any performer to hit that kind of stratospheric high again, especially with Foxx's follow-up Stealth — the 2005 military action flick co-starring Josh Lucas and Jessica Biel was dubbed a "stink-bomb" by Roger Ebert.

Daniel Day-Lewis

Acting legend Daniel Day-Lewis deservedly holds the record for the most Best Actor awards ever, with three wins out of six nominations, but his first was for playing Christy Brown, a writer-artist born with cerebral palsy, in the 1989 drama My Left Foot. And though he would later follow that iconic role up by playing famous figures such as Abraham Lincoln and Bill the Butcher, his immediate next performance was as an Irish-American dentist traveling around Argentina in the forgettable 1989 dramedy Eversmile, New Jersey.

Jack Nicholson

The first of three Academy Awards for the legendary movie star, Jack Nicholson's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest performance as Randle McMurphy nabbed him the Oscar in 1976. Later that year, he would star as cattle rustler Tom Logan opposite Marlon Brandon in the Arthur Penn-helmed Western The Missouri Breaks. Coming hot on the heels of not only his own Oscar win but also Brando's for The Godfather, the film was highly anticipated — however, it failed to live up to those expectations and became a notorious critical and commercial flop.

Marlon Brando

One of the most iconic cinema stars of all time, Marlon Brando was nominated for eight Oscars across his decades-spanning career. He won two, the first being for his electrifying role as prizefighter turned longshoreman Terry Malloy in the 1954 crime drama On the Waterfront, widely considered one of the greatest acting performances of all time. His next role as Napoleon Bonaparte in the historical romance Désirée didn't win him any awards, but Variety reportedly called his performance "a masterful exhibition of thesping" at the time.

Philip Seymour Hoffman

The late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman had already solidified himself as a vibrant and vital supporting actor with films like The Talented Mr. Ripley, Almost Famous, Magnolia and 25th Hour, but his Oscar-winning portrayal of author Truman Capote in 2005's Capote officially upped him to leading man status. He would receive another three Oscar nominations in the years to follow, but his very next role was more of a crowd-pleaser than an awards grab: as arms dealer Owen Davian in Mission: Impossible III.

Russell Crowe

Audiences and critics alike were very much entertained by Russell Crowe's performance as Maximus Decimus Meridius in the 2000 Rome-set epic Gladiator, which earned the New Zealand-born star the Best Actor Oscar at the 73rd Academy Awards. Crowe would go up for the same award only a year later, for his portrayal of American mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr. in the biographical drama A Beautiful Mind, but he lost to Training Day lead Denzel Washington.

Jean Dujardin

Jean Dujardin rose to international fame with his performance as George Valentin in the 2011 silent movie The Artist — his Oscar win was a historic one, as he was the first French performer to ever take home the Best Actor statue. Despite his newfound Hollywood status, however, the actor-comedian returned to his native France for his next film credit: The Players, a 2012 comedy anthology co-starring Gilles Lellouche, with each man also directing and writing a segment.

Nicolas Cage

Nicolas Cage's filmography is a wild ride, from critically acclaimed fare like Raising Arizona, Moonstruck and Adaptation to straight-to-video shlock. Thankfully, his 1995 drama Leaving Las Vegas falls into the former category, winning Cage the Best Actor Oscar for his role as alcoholic screenwriter Ben Sanderson. (Funnily enough, it's not one of Nic Cage's favorite Nic Cage movies.) His next movie was the 1996 action thriller The Rock, which also won Cage an award: the Best On-Screen Duo statue at the MTV Movie Awards alongside co-star Sean Connery.

Eddie Redmayne

British star Eddie Redmayne won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of famed theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking in the 2014 biographical drama The Theory of Everything. But that career high was immediately followed by a career-low: a Golden Raspberry Award — a parody award honoring cinematic failures — for Worst Supporting Actor for his work in the galactically goofy 2015 space opera Jupiter Ascending. Even he admitted his performance was bad!

Sidney Poitier

A movie icon through and through, Bahamian-American actor Sidney Poitier made history in 1964 as the first Black performer to win the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Lilies of the Field. A year later, he moved on from that seminal role with the 1965 Cold War thriller The Bedford Incident, as a civilian photojournalist aboard a U.S. Navy ship that gets into some messy business with a Soviet submarine. Though Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote that "the whole thing transcends plausibility," other critics clearly disagreed — the movie has an 86% Certified Fresh rating.

Sean Penn

After a trio of Best Actor nominations, Sean Penn's haunting performance as a grieving, vengeful father of a murdered Boston girl in the Clint Eastwood-directed neo-noir Mystic River finally got him the Academy Award in 2004. Later that year, Penn starred in yet another crime thriller, The Assassination of Richard Nixon, based on the story of the POTUS's would-be assassin Samuel Byck in the mid-1970s. The latter film didn't share the award-worthy gravitas of Mystic River, though, per Rotten Tomatoes, critical consensus said: "A fascinating true story and compelling Sean Penn performance are worthy compensations."

Roberto Benigni

Few Oscar wins were as memorable as Roberto Benigni's, what with presenter Sofia Loren's passionate declaration of "Roberto!" to Benigni's literal victory lap up to the stage. The Italian actor-director took the Best Actor trophy in 1998 for the Holocaust tragicomedy Life is Beautiful, making him the first honoree for a non-English language performance. A year later, he would appear in a very different movie: French-Italian-German comedy adventure flick Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar opposite Gérard Depardieu and Christian Clavier, which was a box office success.

Al Pacino

One of the most influential actors in modern cinema, Al Pacino was nominated for eight Academy Awards — including for The Godfather films, Serpico and the crime drama classic Dog Day Afternoon — before finally taking home the Best Actor statue for playing Frank Slade in 1992's Scent of a Woman. That Oscar win gave viewers an extra critical eye on his next role, as Nuyorican criminal Carlito Brigante in the De Palma crime drama Carlito's Way, however, reviews were largely positive.

Ben Kingsley

It's a daunting thing playing any famous figure in movies based on true stories, especially when the subject is so famous, that they need only one name. Case in point: Gandhi, the 1982 bio epic about the Indian political and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi, directed by Richard Attenborough and performed by English actor Sir Ben Kingsley. Luckily for them, the film won Best Picture and Kingsley took home the Best Actor award. Though his next project, the 1983 film adaptation of Harold Pinter's play Betrayal, didn't get Oscar acclaim, it was well-received by critics.

Humphrey Bogart

It seems surprising that Humphrey Bogart didn't win the Oscar for a role as iconic as Rick Blaine in the 1942 classic Casablanca. No, it would actually be another eight years until ol' Bogie won Best Actor for The African Queen, starring as Canadian mechanic Charlie Allnut opposite Katharine Hepburn's Methodist missionary Rose Sayer. His post-Oscar follow-up was the 1952 noir Deadline – U.S.A.: Variety said "Bogart gives a convincing performance all the way" as a big-city newspaper editor who exposes a gangster's crimes.

Forest Whitaker

Forest Whitaker was ferocious and formidable as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the 2006 historical drama The Last King of Scotland, one of his best performances that got the performer a Best Actor Oscar in '07. Later that year, the actor appeared in the ensemble crime drama The Air I Breathe alongside Kevin Bacon, Julie Delpy and Brendan Fraser. Though reviews for the film were overwhelmingly negative, several singled out Whitaker's performance. Annabelle Robertson at Crosswalk wrote: "Whitaker, in particular, is extremely sympathetic in his role—a feat that is all the more outstanding after his turn as the evil dictator in The Last King of Scotland."

Dustin Hoffman

After three Best Actor nods, New Hollywood icon Dustin Hoffman received his first Academy Award for playing half of a couple going through a devastating divorce (alongside an equally great Meryl Streep) in Kramer vs. Kramer in 1980. His next movie role is just as much of a classic: as Michael Dorsey-slash-Dorothy Michaels in the beloved 1982 comedy Tootsie, which nabbed the star yet another Best Actor nomination.

Gary Oldman

Gary Oldman was nearly unrecognizable in his prosthetics-heavy performance as British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the 2017 historical drama Darkest Hour. The Academy Awards honored the quintessential Oldman role with a Best Actor award, his second nomination after Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. His next role was just as transformative, if not nearly as acclaimed: Oldman voiced an artificial intelligence in the 2018 sci-fi thriller Tau, which holds a woeful critical rating of 27% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Laurence Olivier

One of the most celebrated Shakespearean actors in film history, cinema icon Laurence Olivier starred in and directed adaptations of three of the Bard's best-known words, Henry V (1944), Hamlet (1948) and Richard III (1955), and earned a Best Actor Oscar for playing the Prince of Denmark. After portraying one of the most famous characters of all time, Olivier switched it up by cameoing as a no-name policeman in the 1951 drama The Magic Box, a "distinguished" bit of stunt casting that The New York Times praised as a delightful "extravagance."

Casey Affleck

Casey Affleck's devastating performance as a father grieving the loss of his three children in Kenneth Lonergan's gut-wrenching Manchester by the Sea clearly broke the collective hearts of the Academy, which voted to give the Boston-bred performer the Best Actor award in 2017. That year, he would tackle another exploration of love and loss with the supernatural drama A Ghost Story, which was a hit with critics — Richard Brody of The New Yorker included the title on his list of the decade's best films.

Brendan Fraser

Brendan Fraser experienced quite the career comeback when he took the Best Actor Oscar for his acclaimed performance as a morbidly obese, housebound English teacher in the 2022 Darren Aronofsky-directed melodrama The Whale. He kept those high-profile projects going with his next film credit, as attorney W. S. Hamilton in Martin Scorsese's stunning American crime drama Killers of the Flower Moon, which was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

While fans wait for a new James Bond adventure, the 2024 TV schedule has some pretty exciting options to keep the espionage-inclined part of my mind busy. Anyone with a Peacock subscription can keep up with the exciting series adaptation of Frederick Forsyth’s The Day of the Jackal. Pitting Eddie Redmayne’s titular assassin against No Time to Die cast member Lashana Lynch’s dogged MI6 agent Bianca Pullman, the series is a battle of wills between their characters. So much so that they only ever met once on the set. But, when they spoke to CinemaBlend, they revealed how they stayed “constantly aligned.”

I had the opportunity to speak with the aforementioned actors during the press day for the Peacock/Sky Atlantic production. Answering first part of the answer to my question about the co-stars' bond was the Fantastic Beasts vet himself, who definitely was in the same place as his Jackal co-star during our virtual chat. When going into the story of how their first meeting was during a “punishing” personal training session, Eddie Redmayne shared the following with CinemaBlend:

That sort of detail was something that Lashana Lynch was keen to chime in on, especially because she and Eddie Redmayne are not only the series leads, they’re also executive producers on the project. That sort of dedication has arguably made The Day of the Jackal one of the best Peacock series currently streaming.

That's no surprise, as Ms. Lynch's feedback fed into some details that I actually noticed when watching the action-drama series for prep. Here’s what she added in her half of the answer to the question at hand:

Seeing The Day of the Jackal as “10 small movies,” Lynch’s experiences on everything from Captain Marvel to Bob Marley: One Love could be assumed as influencing her eye for this new streaming adventure. Her ear for music is particularly noteworthy, as the first episode’s introduction involves The Jackal masquerading as an older German janitor to execute a hit, all to the tune of Radiohead’s “Everything In Its Right Place.”

That song has even featured in some of the advertising for the Ronan Bennett-created show's streaming run, and anyone who knows that tune can see why. Meanwhile, Eddie Redmayne’s thoughts on VFX and aesthetic lend the series its slick look, and potentially the smooth pacing that’s seen this series unfold over several episodes so far.

Considering that this is a globetrotting affair that’s put The Jackal into scrapes in all sorts of scenarios and settings, we’re certainly treated to a visual feast with every installment. But perhaps the move that most unifies Redmayne and Lynch’s disciplines is The Day of the Jackal’s stunning title sequence, which absolutely has a specific vibe in mind when showcasing the show’s tone. Take a look, listen for yourself below and see what comes to mind:

If that opening doesn’t look and sound like it belongs in front of one of the James Bond movies, I may as well quit this profession and become a hired gun myself. Of course, that’s only a joke, as it’d not only take me away from hyping up such series as The Day of the Jackal, it’d also prevent me from finishing the series. That aside, though, I appreciate the craftsmanship at play here and how the two leads were able to remain in sync, even though they weren't in physical proximity to each other.

If you’re in the U.S., you can watch new episodes as they drop every Thursday, exclusively on Peacock. Though if you’re looking for how to watch The Day of the Jackal outside of the States, you can check out our handy guide to get that information pretty quickly. And don't worry: you have plenty of time to catch up before the season finale, which is set to debut on December 12th.

How To Watch The Day Of The Jackal Online

The Day of the Jackal: Synopsis

A contemporary reimagining of Frederick Forsyth’s acclaimed 1971 novel, The Day of the Jackal finds MI6 officer Bianca (Lashana Lynch) in a race across the globe to collar – or kill – ruthless hitman The Jackal (Eddie Redmayne) before he puts a bullet in his next high-profile victim. Promising heart-pounding action and teeth-gnashing drama, we explain everything below about how to watch The Day of the Jackal online – and bag a free stream from anywhere with a VPN.

The breathless 10-part thriller boasts an impressive pedigree. Based on Forsyth’s much-admired novel, it was initially adapted by Fred Zinnemann into the Academy Award-winning 1973 movie. A lot’s changed since the seventies, though, and writer Ronan Bennett (Top Boy, Public Enemies) has thoroughly modernized the story. Instead of The Jackal being hired to kill French President Charles de Gaulle by terrorists, he’s paid to snuff out a tech entrepreneur by a shady billionaire (Charles Dance, TV’s favorite villain).

Amping up the nail-biting drama and suspense are the BAFTA-winning duo of Redmayne and Lynch, playing two consummate professionals on opposing sides of the law. Redmayne (known for his transformative portrayals of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything and artist Lili Elbe in The Danish Girl) is perfectly cast here. An expert at mimicry, The Jackal effortlessly inhabits different guises, in part thanks to his arsenal of prosthetics and hairpieces. That leaves him free to execute his kills with breezy efficiency before merging unnoticed into the panicked crowd.

Yet he meets his match in the fiercely determined Bianca. Lynch – who’s refined her tough, steely, yet deeply emotive action hero persona in films like No Time to Die and The Woman King – portrays the British intelligence officer determined to catch The Jackal at any cost, facing off with him in countries around the world as they’re drawn together with dramatically explosive results.

With two astounding performances and described by TV Line as “a rivetingly tense, effortlessly cool thrill ride," this is one high-octane drama you won’t want to miss. Read on below for how to watch The Day of the Jackal online now and stream every episode – exclusively on Peacock in the US.

How to watch The Day of the Jackal online in the US

US viewers can now watch The Day of the Jackal exclusively on Peacock. It premiered on November 14. The action thriller consists of ten episodes: the first five will be available at debut, followed by a weekly release of one episode, up until the shows two-part conclusion on December 12.

You can purchase a Peacock subscription from $7.99 a month. Alternatively, pay more and skip the commercials by opting for its Premium Plus plan, which costs $13.99 a month.

Although Peacock doesn’t currently offer a free trial (and hasn't for some time) you can save 17% when signing up to its annual plans ($79.99 or $139.99 a year respectively).

Currently traveling abroad? Whether you’re a Kiwi in America trying to access TVNZ Plus, or an American temporarily out of the country, download a VPN to access the same services you’d enjoy back home.

How to watch The Day of the Jackal from anywhere

If you're a US citizen on vacation or working overseas, you can still watch The Day of the Jackal online just as you would at home.

While services like Peacock block access from IP addresses outside of the US, there's a handy piece of software called a VPN that can change your IP address to make it look like you're accessing streaming services from any country in the world.

For example, US citizens overseas can subscribe to a VPN, join a US-based server and access their subscription from anywhere in the world, just like they would back home.

Step-by-step of using a VPN to unblock:

1. Choose your ideal VPN and install – our go-to recommendation for unblocking is NordVPN, costing from under $3.99 a month with its 2-year plan

2. Connect to a server – for Peacock, you'll want to connect to a server based in the US, while Kiwi citizens wanting to dial in to TVNZ Plus will want a New Zealand server.

3. Go to the stream you wish to access - for The Day of the Jackal, head to your home streaming service (Peacock in the US, TVNZ Plus in New Zealand, etc.)

How to watch The Day of the Jackal online free in New Zealand

This nail-biting thriller lands in New Zealand on Friday, November 15. Kiwis will be able to watch The Day of the Jackal online 100% free through TVNZ Plus, with new instalments added at 8am NZDT each week after the initial drop.

Signing up is quick, easy, and – better yet – totally free. Simply pop in your details including an email address and password – no zip code required!

Away from home? Use a VPN to port yourself back to New Zealand and watch The Day of the Jackal for free.

How to watch The Day of the Jackal online in the UK

The Day of the Jackal arrived from November 7 in the UK. At debut, the Sky Atlantic channel aired the first five episodes back-to-back, with new episodes airing at 9pm GMT every Thursday. Alternatively, you can stream The Day of the Jackal online with a subscription to NOW.

Sky TV packages start from £26 a month. For a more flexible streaming option, though, you can sign up to NOW's Entertainment pass. That costs £9.99 a month, with the option to cancel your membership at any time. You can also opt for the £6.99 Six Month Saver deal currently, but note that you’ll be tied into a minimum 6-month contract.

An American citizen overseas? Use a VPN to access your Peacock account back in the States.

Watch The Day of the Jackal online free in Canada

Canadians can watch The Day of the Jackal and stream the Eddie Redmayne-starring drama on the Showcase channel from Thursday, November 14 at 9pm ET / 6pm PT.

Don’t have cable? You can watch Showcase programming online with a subscription to STACKTV. Simply purchase it as part of an Amazon Prime subscription. Both Amazon Prime and STACKTV have free trial offers to new members (30-days and 14-days long respectively), after which you’ll pay CA$9.99 a month to keep STACKTV and CA12.99 for Amazon Prime.

NB: if you're an American traveling north of the border who wants to access your Peacock account back home, you can do so with a VPN.

Watch The Day of the Jackal in Australia

The Day of the Jackal landed Down Under on Binge, with episodes made available from November 7 – day and date with its UK debut.

There’s a 7-day free trial available to members new to the service. When that ends, however, you’ll pay as little as AU$10 a month for the platform’s entry-level subscription.

Away from home? Simply purchase a VPN to connect to your streaming service of choice and watch your favorite TV shows and movies from anywhere.

The Day Of The Jackal Trailer

The Day Of The Jackal Episode Release Schedule

• The Day of the Jackal: Episode 1 – Thursday, November 7
• The Day of the Jackal: Episode 2 – Thursday, November 7
• The Day of the Jackal: Episode 3 – Thursday, November 7
• The Day of the Jackal: Episode 4 – Thursday, November 7
• The Day of the Jackal: Episode 5 – Thursday, November 7
• The Day of the Jackal: Episode 6 – Thursday, November 14
• The Day of the Jackal: Episode 7 – Thursday, November 21
• The Day of the Jackal: Episode 8 – Thursday, November 28
• The Day of the Jackal: Episode 9 – Thursday, December 5
• The Day of the Jackal: Episode 10 – Thursday, December 12

Who Is In The Cast Of The Day Of The Jackal?

• Eddie Redmayne as The Jackal
• Lashana Lynch as Bianca
• Úrsula Corberó as Nuria
• Charles Dance as Timothy Winthorp
• Richard Dormer as Norman
• Chukwudi Iwuji as Osita Halcrow
• Lia Williams as Isabel Kirby
• Khalid Abdalla as Ulle Dag Charles
• Eleanor Matsuura as Zina Jansone
• Jonjo O'Neill as Edward Carver
• Ben Hall as Damian Richardson
• Sule Rimi as Paul Pullman

When Andrew Garfield was first starting out in Hollywood, he was in good company with other young British actors trying to land their breakthrough role. During this time, he befriended other actors like Eddie Redmayne, Jamie Dornan and Robert Pattinson, and they merged somewhat of a friend group. Garfield even lived with Redmayne and Dornan for a while. Coincidentally, this rag-tag squad of up-and-comers all made it big, and Garfield recently opened up about what he believes to be the most "amazing" aspect of that brotherhood.

The Social Network star appeared on the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast and chatted about aspects of his career. He also discussed his and Florence Pugh's new film, We Live In Time. Talk soon turned to the group of now-famous English movie stars the Spider-Man veteran befriended along the way. He humorously named off the likes of Robert Pattinson, Charlie Cox and co. While the Oscar nominee told stories about goofy shenanigans, he also reflected on how he and his chums side-stepped the competitive nature of their industry:

It’s great that the supportive energy and desire for everyone to be successful transcended any ill-will towards missed opportunities or losing roles to each other. One might even assume that this outlook and dynamic may have even contributed to all of the actors continuing to try and make it in the industry and the entire group achieving a level of movie star success. Andrew Garfield also revealed that it was Eddie Redmayne who initially set this light tone. The story that the Hacksaw Ridge star shared on that front is quite sweet:

I'm not surprised to hear that Eddie Redmayne was the one to set a friendly tone so early. He always seems to have an earnest, upbeat aura around him, even if the roles he takes can sometimes be deeply serious. When it comes to the group as a whole, it was ultimately Robert Pattinson who achieved fame first, with Twilight being a phenomenon. However, the others were shortly behind starring in their own Oscar-worthy films and blockbuster franchises, and it's not hard to understand why.

It’s so sweet that not only did this friendship form and hold up when Andrew Garfield and co. all needed support the most but has continued as they have become successful. They all love telling stories about their early acting goofs. Over the years, fans have heard the story of Eddie Redmayne witnessing Robert Pattinson’s unique audition techniques for the first time or, as mentioned during this latest interview, the time that Andrew Garfield recording videos after Jamie Dornan was injured after a ski accident.

Whenever these men reunite on red carpets, it’s always adorable, but what really shouldn't be understated is the continued support they show each other. That's rare in Hollywood and, quite frankly, I do find it "amazing" that Andrew Garfield and his fellow performers avoided any jealousy and quickly rooted for each other.

You can see Andrew Garfield in A24'sWe Live In Time, which is playing in theaters nationwide. Critics are high on Garfield and Florence Pugh's film, which is directed by John Crowley, so make sure to check it out on the big screen.

Even the biggest and brightest stars of Hollywood have movies that they’d rather not mention being a part of in polite company. And the list you’re about to read has some of the most infamous examples of those types of projects making silver screen history…just not in the way one would have expected.

Tom Hanks - The Bonfire Of The Vanities

While we’ve seen Tom Hanks’ comments on why The Bonfire of the Vanities didn’t work, the movie’s infamy as a box office dud is something he probably doesn’t address all that often. And who could blame him, as the public considered America’s Dad to be the worst casting choice to lead a satire about the amorality of late ‘80s/early ‘90s stockbrokers.

Jamie Lee Curtis - Virus

The film adaptation of Dark Horse Comics’ Virus is uncompromisingly bad, no matter if you’re familiar with the book or not. But the most entertaining thing to come out of it was the fact that star Jamie Lee Curtis has taken every chance to roast this picture with the most cutting of remarks. It’s truly one of the best cases of entertainers who have trashed their own movies.

Michael Caine - Jaws: The Revenge

This is an example of using class and wit to politely stuff a movie like Jaws: The Revenge into the trash bin of life. Actor Michael Caine’s remarks about never seeing the film, but loving its payday, is something that always hits like the best line at a cocktail party celebrating the movies we love to loathe.

Emily Blunt - Gulliver’s Travels

History almost gave us an Iron Man 2 with Emily Blunt playing the role of Black Widow. And then contractual obligations forced Ms. Blunt to pass, in favor of starring in the Jack Black vehicle Gulliver’s Travels. So yeah, maybe it’s best not to mention this one to this star of A Quiet Place, no matter how much you think she might laugh.

Dennis Quaid - Jaws 3-D

All legendary actors have the gigs that make them, and the ones that they took so early in their career that they’d rather not think about them. Dennis Quaid’s role in Jaws 3-D more than likely falls into the latter bucket, as it’s one of the two Jaws sequels that failed to make the cut with even the franchise’s most devoted fans.

Viola Davis - The Help

Academy Award winner Viola Davis scored a nomination for her role in Tate Taylor’s film adaptation of The Help. Despite her performance’s excellence, Davis still maintains her opinion of regretting having taken part in the movie’s production, and the resulting product. 

Bill Murray - Garfield

No cinematic icon is immune to trickery, especially a trickster like Bill Murray. With his infamous Garfield casting story seeing the comedy legend mistake the movie’s writer for one of the Coen Bros, you can kind of see why he’d use his Zombieland cameo in 2009 to poke fun at the film being his only life’s regret.

Mariah Carey - Glitter

Glitter wasn’t enough of a disaster to kill Mariah Carey’s acting career, and to her credit, she went on to deliver some amazing performances in films like Lee Daniels’ Precious. But whoo-boy, does this musical drama still sting to think about from time to time? 

Elijah Wood - North

While there’s an interesting selection of beloved films Roger Ebert absolutely hated, North is one of the flops that the legendary film critic rightfully roasted. Though it definitely wasn’t Elijah Wood’s fault, it’s probably best if you don’t approach him about this one without some sort of care. 

Jennifer Lopez - Gigli

As a legendary turkey in the world of infamously bad movies, even Gigli’s director Martin Brest has pointed thoughts about that epic fail. Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s colossal dud of a rom-com has more than earned its place on the bad side of history, and one could bet that even its mere mention would inspire the most withering side eye from J.Lo herself. 

George Clooney - Batman & Robin

If there’s a constant in George Clooney’s career as an entertainer, it’s his regret over Batman and Robin. Stepping in after Val Kilmer bolted on Joel Schumacher’s second Gotham-based tentpole, you can bet the ER heartthrob wishes he could use a time machine to go back and prevent this experience from ever happening. 

Renee Zellweger - Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation

Out of the Oscar-winning pair of Renee Zellweger and Matthew McConaughey, it’s a safe bet that Ms. Zellweger would be the one who’d want to keep Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation off the table of discussion. Then again, she might be a bit more relaxed on the subject since so much time has passed. 

Robert Downey Jr. - The Shaggy Dog

Early on in his mid-Aughts comeback, Robert Downey Jr. diversified his acting portfolio with everything from Kiss Kiss Bang Bang to Good Night, and Good Luck. And mixed in with the lot was his role as the antagonist in Tim Allen’s remake of The Shaggy Dog. Downey would probably talk about the movie if asked, but one has to wonder what he’d say? 

Emma Watson - The Circle

For someone like Emma Watson, an actor who chooses their projects with a level of mindfulness and message in mind, The Circle must have seemed like a good choice. But the eventual public reaction to the film may have caused the Harry Potter vet to think twice even before approaching source material with names as storied as author Dave Eggers and director James Ponsoldt attached. 

Eddie Murphy - The Adventures of Pluto Nash

The Adventures of Pluto Naash is a habitual punching bag when folks choose to talk about the most infamous disasters in movie history. And thanks to that distinction, even the very open Eddie Murphy wouldn’t be mistaken for keeping this sci-fi/comedy flameout away from the conversation. 

Lucy Liu - Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever

Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever is an infamous movie without even taking into account that it somehow managed to snag the star power of Lucy Liu into its clutches. Admittedly, so few people remember this one that it doesn’t feel like she’d have to be on guard for random fans mentioning its existence. 

Matt Damon - The Great Wall

You might think that the “white savior” worries of Matt Damon’s character in The Great Wall are the reason he might not want to talk about this massive box office dud. But the fact of the matter is, he’d probably politely decline any discussion on the matter because it was a thundering failure that didn’t really win him any new fans.

Jennifer Lawrence - Dark Phoenix

How much did Jennifer Lawrence distance herself from the X-Men movies by time she made Dark Phoenix? Well, not only was her time in makeup severely reduced/scaled back in quality, but she died quite early in the final X-Men prequel from the Fox days. Maybe that's part of why the two-part structure was abandoned prior to its release. 

Sylvester Stallone - Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot

It’s the movie so bad that Arnold Schwarzenegger tricked Sylvester Stallone into starring in it. Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot is still a punch line for the Rocky franchise star/director, even decades after the film was released and tanked. One has to wonder how awkward some of those Planet Hollywood openings were, thanks to this awkward piece of history existing.

Lily Collins - Rules Don’t Apply

Actor Lily Collins is a talent that has the old Hollywood look down to a tee and isn’t afraid to show it. That confidence is probably what got her cast in Warren Beatty’s misguided rom-com Rules Don’t Apply, and to be fair, she and co-star Alden Ehrenreich are two of the only bright spots in this mostly forgettable throwback. 

Eddie Redmayne - Jupiter Ascending

If anyone is ready to admit Eddie Redmayne’s Jupiter Ascending performance is bad, it’s the man himself. While some might be inclined to give him more credit for his work in the Wachowski’s far-flung space opera, Redmayne’s criticisms of his role do come with some important caveats. 

Jennifer Hudson - Sandy Wexler

Adam Sandler is a talent who’s able to draw a wide range of actors into his orbit, and his Netflix movie Sandy Wexler was no exception. Playing a talent agent who knows a good client when he sees one, Jennifer Hudson is one of the people he rightfully tries to fast-track to fame. By no means does that proper judgment mean that this movie is something she, or most viewers, would even remember.

Hugh Jackman - Pan

Some flops crash and burn with very little trace of the wreckage. Others, like the Hugh Jackman starring Peter Pan adaptation Pan, collapse under ill-fated ambitions that don’t end up adding up in the end. But at least we got Jackman’s Captain Hook singing “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” in a totally bonkers musical number.

Pedro Pascal - Wonder Woman 1984

Pedro Pascal is almost universally recognized as one of, if not the best part of Wonder Woman 1984. That still feels like a far cry from something The Mandalorian star would even want to discuss, as its infamy is something that still echoes pretty strongly so close to its initial execution.

Dame Judi Dench - Cats

You can always count on an acting talent as iconic as Dame Judi Dench to tell it like it is. And whether it was reacting to her Razzie award nomination or the final look of her character in 2019’s Cats, she certainly hasn’t left any of her thoughts to the imagination. 

Daisy Ridley - Chaos Walking

One would probably think that Daisy Ridley would merely not want to remember Chaos Walking because of its unsuccessful bid for box office success. However, the protracted production and crazy amounts of reshoots and edits have probably ensured that the Star Wars vet has actually forgotten the ins and outs of this failed YA franchise.

Ben Kingsley - A Sound of Thunder

You don’t get to be an actor as legendary as Ben Kingsley without logging some seriously wild projects like A Sound of Thunder on your resume. This 2005 sci-fi disaster is so ill-regarded that its Game Boy video game adaptation is seen as a more favorable experience. That’s both terribly unique and just plain old terrible. 

Brendan Fraser - Monkeybone

Brendan Fraser is a lovable actor who knows how, and when, to get goofy. It’s just a shame that a project like Monkeybone never understood how to use those skills to its advantage, saddling The Mummy star with a movie that he more than likely hasn’t thought about for some time. 

Scarlett Johansson - Ghost In The Shell

There are some who might defend the live-action adaptation of Ghost in the Shell starring Scarlett Johansson. Considering how much the movie has been rejected by even the source anime’s fans, and the kerfluffle that came from her casting as Major Mira Killian being seen as a bit of whitewashing, this project is probably one that the Marvel veteran would reasonably remain silent on.

Keanu Reeves - 47 Ronin

It’s not Keanu Reeves’ fault that 47 Ronin was a stinker for the ages. Although if one were to mention the movie to him in passing, he’d probably just smile and laugh, charmingly admitting defeat in that particular case of cinematic disaster. 

Will Smith - Gemini Man

What’s worse than a movie failing with one Will Smith in the starring role? Apparently, a technologically advanced picture like Gemini Man, which saw Smith playing against a CGI de-aged younger version of himself. Finally, a movie that rivals Wild Wild West for infamy on Mr. Smith’s resume.

Jack Nicholson - How Do You Know?

Jack Nicholson has been comfortably retired ever since making 2010’s How Do You Know? One has to wonder if he’d be equally as comfortable if he were to be prompted to remember the experience and the fallout that came from its release into theaters. 

As you can see, even the most talented of actors have their potential sore spots in conversation. Maybe they're not as shy about discussing these films as we'd think, and you can get a good story out of the deal. In any case, if there was a class of losers that the best and brightest of Hollywood wished they could forget, this is more than a formidable crop of titles that would fit that bill for good reason.

While Hufflepuffs aren’t the most represented house in the Harry Potter movies, over the years, love for these kind and loyal witches and wizards has grown. That love expanded even more when Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them came out, and we learned about the lovely lead of those films, Newt Scamander. Between the kind-hearted animal researcher from Hogwarts' history to modern heroes, like Cedric Diggory, Hufflepuffs are great, and it’s time we give them some credit and talk about what makes them part of this black and yellow house.  

The 5 Core Traits Of A Hufflepuff

The core traits of Hufflepuffs help prove that these witches and wizards are people you always want on your team. Known for their loyalty, patience and good work ethic, per Wizarding World, this house founded by Helga Hufflepuff is full of lovely people who value honesty and kindness. 

Loyalty

Loyalty is the primary trait of a Hufflepuff. They will always be there to help everyone, especially when it’s for a good cause. This was shown by Cedric wanting to help Harry during Goblet of Fire, and Tonks’ loyalty was on full display when she wanted to help the Order of the Phoenix. 

Hard-Working

While all houses are clearly hard-working, for Hufflepuffs it’s a priority, and you can see that in the way Newt Scamander goes about his research for his book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. 

Patience

Clearly, Cedric has the patience to figure out the egg clue in Goblet of Fire before passing the knowledge along to Harry. While other houses may act on instinct, for Hufflepuffs, it’s important to wait for the perfect moment to act. 

Fairness

When it comes to being just and equal, Hufflepuffs thrive. Most of the time, they really excel at looking at the situation as a whole and playing fairly, like Cedric did during the Tri-Wizard Tournament. 

Kindness

While there are kind people in every Hogwarts house, and it’s a value everyone should have, in Hufflepuff, it’s a priority to treat people in a friendly, generous and considerate way. 

Honesty

Finally, we have honesty. Considering loyalty is vital to Hufflepuffs, it makes sense that honesty is also a priority, because the two values truly go hand in hand. 

Overall, the core traits of Hufflepuffs make them reliable, loyal and kind-hearted witches and wizards, which is proven when you look at the people who were part of this house. 

5 Wizarding World Characters Who Are Hufflepuffs

Now, let’s talk about wizards who exemplified these qualities and were sorted into Hufflepuff as first years. From the lead of Fantastic Beasts to great side characters in Harry Potter, the Hufflepuffs in the Wizarding World are wonderful, so let’s take a moment to appreciate them. 

Cedric Diggory

Do you want to talk about side characters who really came through in Harry Potter? Well, look no further than Cedric Diggory. A beloved Hufflepuff, this guy is athletic, kind and wicked smart. When he’s chosen to compete in the Tri-Wizard Tournament in Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire, Robert Pattinson’s Hufflepuff is fair and incredibly kind to his competitors, especially Harry.

He helps the young wizard figure out a clue for a challenge, and at the very end, he tragically dies after being transported to Voldemort’s hiding place while trying to help Harry. Overall, Cedric isn’t around long, but he’s a fantastic hero and a fantastic Hufflepuff. 

Also, it’s worth noting that Cedric’s classmate Hannah Abbott was also a Hufflepuff, and she went on to marry Neville Longbottom after the Battle of Hogwarts. Both characters were loyal allies of Harry Potter, especially when it came to defending the world against Voldemort. 

Newt Scamander

While there weren’t any principal Hufflepuffs in the Harry Potter movies, the lead of the Fantastic Beasts franchise was from this loyal house, and his name is Newt Scamander. Played by Eddie Redmayne – who will passionately defend the house too – this kind, patient and fair fellow is the author of the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them book. 

While his research became standard reading at Hogwarts, the films track his adventures in the United States as he battles Grindelwald with the help of Albus Dumbledore, his brother, Theseus Scamander (who was introduced as part of the Crimes of Grindelwald cast and is also a Hufflepuff) and more wonderful wizards. He’s also, of course, helped by the creatures he loves so dearly. 

Overall, Newt Scamander is a Hall of Fame Hufflepuff. 

Nymphadora Tonks 

On the surface, Nymphadora Tonks gives Gyffendor vibes, however, she’s a Hufflepuff through and through. Played by Natalia Tena in the Harry Potter cast, Tonks is a cool and confident witch who is also a Metamorphmagus, meaning she can change her appearance anytime.

The primary trait of a Hufflepuff is loyalty, and you can see that Tonks has it by the way she supports her husband Remus Lupin and the Order of the Phoenix.

While Hufflepuffs aren’t commonly considered assertive, like Cedric, Tonks proves that she is courageous and valiant as well as loyal and fair through her magical skills, her work as an auror, and as a member of the society working to take down the dark lord.    

Pomona Sprout

Pomona Sprout is the head of Hufflepuff House and the head of the herbology department at Hogwarts, making her a powerful member of this house during Harry Potter’s time there. Most notably, we see this professor in action when she’s teaching the kids about Mandrakes during Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. 

It’s also worth noting that Professor Sprout was one of Neville Longbottom’s mentors. After graduating, the Gryffindor joined the herbology department and worked alongside her, teaching all the Hogwarts students about magical plants. 

Helga Hufflepuff

I’d be remiss if we didn’t talk about the founder of Hufflepuff House, Helga Hufflepuff. The witch was one of the four founders of the school of witchcraft and wizardry, and she was known for accepting all students who were loyal and willing to work hard, hence the core traits of the house. 

Like the other four house founders, Helga also had an item, a cup in her case, that was turned into a Horcrux when Voldemort started his tirade. 

Overall, Helga Hufflepuff helped found the kind-hearted and loyal house that bears a badger as its mascot, and she’s a wonderful role model for all who enter this house. 

Hufflepuff’s have a history of getting flack – just look at Tom Felton’s reaction to being sorted there and you’ll see – but it’s completely undeserved. As everything here proves, the people who make up this house are loyal, kind, fair and hard-working. Plus, many of them rise to be fantastic wizards and witches who, like magical folks from the other four houses, prove to be legends in the Wizarding World. 

Eddie Redmayne is a big star, known for his work in the Fantastic Beasts films and his Oscar-winning performance in The Theory of Everything. However, there was once a time in his early acting days where he was living with Jamie Dornan and Andrew Garfield and going to acting auditions when he could. The pals still keep in touch, and Dornan even has stories to share of weird occurrences from right after they all got famous. He recently told one about the time Redmayne’s email got hacked and, as a result, he got a strange message from his buddy, which included a request for money. And, apparently, legendary actor Warren Beatty even volunteered to send cash. 

The Fifty Shades of Grey alum recently sat down with Josh Horowitz of the Happy, Sad Confused podcast (as shared on YouTube), where he chatted about some of his most notable roles, and the new season of his BBC series, The Tourist. The host also asked Jamie Dornan which of his famous pals would be most reliable in an emergency situation. While he noted that Eddie Redmayne would be good, the question did remind him of the aforementioned incident that saw the Les Miserables actor's email get hijacked. That's wild enough, but the thought of Warren Beatty responding to the offer is even kookier. Dornan said:

Even though it was a scam, it’s sweet to know that the Heaven Can Wait star was quick and ready to help if Eddie Redmayne was ever in actual trouble. Thankfully, the iconic actor and director wasn’t taken for a ride, and it seems like money was never actually sent to the hacker. Interestingly enough, according to Jamie Dornan, this all happened shortly before Beatty was caught up in another awkward situation -- the moment he read of wrong Best Picture winner at the Oscars. The Belfast actor explained: 

There's an infinite amount of possible follow-up questions to this story. Personally, I’m curious as to how Warren Beatty was in the Danish Girl star's contact list to begin with. The two have never done a film together, so their connection just seems to be this email scam. With Beatty so willing to send him money, maybe the Bonnie and Clyde star is just an incredibly nice guy. Just hopefully, not too nice where he puts himself at risk again.

This is such an insane story, and it's almost unbelievable that the Reds helmer was the first to respond, especially considering how many lifelong friends of Eddie Redmayne likely received the same email. Considering how much time the Good Nurse actor spent with actors like Robert Pattinson back in the day, lots of big Hollywood names could’ve almost fallen victim to the scam. It's good that everything seems to have turned out fine and that this is now just a wild anecdote that Dornan can tell at parties or on a podcast.

I'd like to think that Eddie Redmayne now has measures in place to prevent himself from getting hacked and is hopefully able to focus on giving his next great performance. He's currently set to star in a series titled The Day of the Jackal, which is set to premiere for Peacock subscribers later this year. You can also check out his old friend Jamie Dornan in The Tourist, which is now streaming with a Netflix subscription.

The Les Misérables cast is full of talent – and they've done a lot since the film was released more than ten years ago. 

I have been obsessed with movie musicals for as long as I can remember. I love to rewatch Mamma Mia!, check out the hit movie Chicago, and even dance around my room while rewatching Hairspray. No matter the movie musical, I love to rewatch it. Les Misérables was a movie musical that I loved for some time as a child. I recently decided to rewatch it, and my opinion of the film has changed significantly because my knowledge of the original musical has grown. But you want to know what has stayed the same? The love I have for the Les Misérables cast. 

I'm not sure what Tom Hooper did to get an ensemble cast of this talent, but the Les Misérables cast is one of the most star-studded ensemble movie musicals I have seen in a long time. From Hugh Jackman to Russell Crowe to Anne Hathaway, there are plenty of cast members here that we have seen in massive movies, major TV shows and incredible stage productions. 

If you're wondering where the Les Misérables cast is more than a decade after the film premiered, here is what they've been up to. 

Hugh Jackman (Jean Valjean)

First up on this list is the star of Les Misérables, Hugh Jackman. He portrayed Jean Valjean, and while I don't personally agree with making him the lead character, his acting was great in the film. He ended up scoring an Academy Award nomination for it. Jackman has always participated in theatre and musicals, so his being in Les Misérables makes sense. 

Jackman continued to further his musical talents after his role in the movie. Not only did he host the 2014 Tony Awards, where he put on an impressive opening performance featuring several big Broadway stars, but he also starred in the smash hit musical The Greatest Showman (which truthfully needs a sequel). He was also the star of the Broadway revival of The Music Man in 2022. 

Aside from that, Jackman has appeared in many movies since his role in Les Misérables. He closed out his time as Wolverine in the X-Men movie franchise, but he will reprise the role one last time in the upcoming Deadpool 3, which paused filming due to the 2023 Writer's Strike. 

Jackman also appeared in films such as The Front Runner, Bad Education, Prisoners, The Son and was the star of the Reminiscence cast in 2021. He also had a recurring voice role on the hit Netflix show Human Resources and a recurring role on Hulu's Koala Man. He'll be in a new film called Apostle Paul and a new miniseries called Faraway Downs next.

Russell Crowe (Javert)

Russell Crowe portrayed Javert in Les Misérables, and I will openly admit that I did not care that much for his casting, as most people didn't. Crowe isn't necessarily known for his singing ability. However, the actor is incredibly talented, and he's been in plenty of movies since then. 

His most prominent movies include The Nice Guys, The Mummy, Unhinged, Noah (where he starred as the titular character), Poker Face, and The Greatest Beer Run Ever. He also portrayed Zeus in Thor: Love and Thunder, and he was a part of the 2023 horror film The Pope's Exorcist. Crowe has also had a voice role on Ark: The Animated Series. 

Crowe has plenty coming up in the next few years regarding new projects. He will be a part of the Kraven the Hunter cast, and he is set to appear in movies such as The Georgetown Project, A Taste for Blood, Sleeping Dogs, Rothko, and more. 

Anne Hathaway (Fantine)

The Les Misérables cast is incredible, but no one surpassed Anne Hathaway, who played Fantine in the film. The actress won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role, and she has gone on to star in some pretty incredible projects since then. We've even ranked her best films.

My personal favorite performance of hers was when she had a co-starring role in Interstellar, one of Christopher Nolan's best films I watched in 2023. Aside from that, Hathaway has appeared in movies like The Intern, Alice Through the Looking Glass, Ocean's 8, Locked Down, The Witches, She Came to Me, Eileen, and more. 

The actress also held a role on the Amazon Prime TV show Modern Love for two episodes. Hathaway will star in Mother's Instinct and several other movies like The Idea Of You, Mother Mary, The Lifeboat, and Bum's Rush in the coming years.

Amanda Seyfried (Cosette)

I've always loved Amanda Seyfried in any musical role, and her as Cosette was the perfect pick. Les Misérables showed the full capability of her musical talent. And ever since then, Amanda Seyfried has starred in some great films. 

She was in the sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, and she also starred in other movies such as The Big Wedding, Epic, A Million Ways to Die in the West, Gringo, Ted 2, Pan, The Art of Racing in the Rain, Scoob!, Things Heard and Seen, and A Mouthful of Air. 

Seyfried has also expanded her talent into television. She had a leading performance in The Dropout cast on Hulu, one that earned her a Primetime Emmy nomination. She also had a lead role in Apple TV+'s The Crowded Room, and she was on four episodes of Twin Peaks. 

Seyfried will appear in a new movie called My Ex-Friend's Wedding next, so be sure to check that out. 

Eddie Redmayne (Marius Pontmercy)

Marius Pontmercy was the love interest of Cosette and one of the fighters of the rebellion in Les Misérables, and Eddie Redmayne portrayed him. This was the first time I had ever seen Redmayne, so his performance in this movie holds a special place in my heart. 

A year later, Redmayne won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Theory of Everything, where he played Stephen Hawking. Aside from that, Redmayne has also gained a lot of notoriety for his role as Newt Scamander in the Fantastic Beasts franchise in the world of Harry Potter. 

Aside from this, Redmayne has appeared in several other movies, including The Danish Girl, The Trial of the Chicago 7, The Aeronauts, The Good Nurse, and Early Man. Up next, he will be starring in a new TV series called The Day of the Jackal. 

Helena Bonham Carter (Madame Thénardier)

Helena Bonham Carter is arguably one of my favorite actresses, and her role as Madame Thénardier in Les Misérables is iconic in the best way possible. Ever since then, the actress has appeared in a variety of movies. 

My choice for her best film post-Les Mis is the live-action Cinderella, where she played the Fairy Godmother. She also appeared in the Enola Holmes movies on Netflix, One Love, Alice Through the Looking Glass, Ocean's 8, Suffragette, and The Lone Ranger. 

Carter also starred as Princess Margaret for two seasons on the hit Netflix series The Crown, and she had roles in Love, Nina, and The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (the latter of which was canceled). She appeared in a British miniseries as well, titled Nolly. She will be in two new films, The Offing and Four Letters of Love, and she will also appear in a TV series about David Copperfield. 

Sacha Baron Cohen (Monsieur Thénardier)

I cannot think of a better actor to play Monsieur Thénardier in Les Misérables, especially opposite Helena Bonham Carter, than Sacha Baron Cohen. Cohen has appeared in movies since Les Misérables, including Alice Through the Looking Glass and The Trial of the Chicago 7, and he held a voice role in the emotional Pixar film Luca. 

Cohen especially made waves when he released Borat Subsequent Moviefilm in 2020, a sequel to his hit movie Borat. The film received excellent reviews, and it earned a few Academy Award nominations. 

He also created, wrote, and starred in Who Is America? and was in six episodes of The Spy series. Cohen will be in a new miniseries called Disclaimer and two new movies called Mandrake the Magician and Super Toys.

Samantha Barks (Éponine)

Samantha Barks played Éponine in Les Misérables, a known stage veteran who portrayed the same character in the stage production years before the movie. Since then, the actress has appeared in films, including The Christmas Candle, Bitter Harvest, Interlude for Prague, and Tomorrow Morning. She also had a guest role on the TV show Bear Grylls: Mission Survive. 

Barks has mainly stuck to theatre since her role in the movie, appearing in various stage plays and musicals, including Chicago, Chess, Frozen, The Last Five Years, Amelie, City of Angels, Honeymoon in Vegas, and Pretty Woman: The Musical. 

Aaron Tveit (Enjolras)

Enjolras wasn't as big of a star as Marius, but he certainly made an impact in Les Misérables, and Aaron Tveit is the reason for that. The actor has appeared in a few films, including Big Sky, Better Of Single, Out of Blue, and Created Equal, but has mainly stuck to television. 

He was a part of Graceland and BrainDead, he also was part of the stacked Schimigadoon! main cast. He had several recurring and guest roles on shows such as The Good Fight, The Code, and American Horror Stories too. Tveit has also stuck to theatre, appearing in productions like Company, Assassins, and most recently, Moulin Rouge!, for which he won a Tony Award for. 

Daniel Huttlestone (Gavroche)

Lastly, we have Daniel Huttlestone, who played Gavroche in Les Misérables. While the character is essential, Huttlestone hasn't done much acting since then. He appeared in Into the Woods in a prominent part, and then he appeared in the films Friday Download, London Town, and The Lost City of Z, but has since stopped acting. 

There are so many talented stars on this list that I need to catch up on, and now I feel I need to do some movie marathons to celebrate all their incredible films. Does anyone else feel up to the challenge of watching Mamma Mia! over and over again with me? 

When the Fantastic Beats movie franchise was first revealed it was set to be something on the same sense of scale as the Harry Potter movies that inspired it. From the outset, the plan was to make not just one film, but a franchise of five stories that would cover decades of the Wizarding World’s existence. However, the Fantastic Beasts films have not caught on with fans and so there’s a big question now if the series will continue after the recently released third movie. At this point, star Eddie Redmayne knows nothing about any future Fantastic Beasts projects. 

While the original Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them was reasonably successful, the sequel, The Crimes of Grindelwald struggled to find an audience. The most recent film, The Secrets of Dumbledore, was originally delayed specifically because they wanted to take extra time to help that film be more successful, but it did not work. At this point, we don’t know with certainty what the future of the franchise is, but Eddie Redmayne’s comments to NME would seem to imply another movie is unlikely. He said… 

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore was given something of a conclusion at the end that many have taken as an acknowledgment that the franchise was not likely to continue. Having said that, there’s never been any sort of official statement from Warner Bros. regarding whether or not the other two previously planned movies would happen. There is clearly interest at WB to move forward with Harry Potter and do more with the larger franchise, but that doesn’t mean we’ll see more Fantastic Beasts. 

At this point, it certainly seems like greenlighting a fourth Fantastic Beasts would be an unlikely business decision. The last movie made $400 million at the global box office, which may not seem that bad but these were certainly expensive movies to produce. It was also over $200 million less than was earned by The Crimes of Grindelwald, which was, in turn, nearly $200 million less than the original Fantastic Beasts made. That’s simply an unsustainable trend.

The Wizarding World is still a massive franchise overall. A Harry Potter store has been built in New York. The new Epic Universe theme park at Universal Orlando Resort is expected to have a Wizarding World-themed area, just as the other two parks have. Although, at one point it was expected the new land would be themed around the Fantastic Beasts franchise, and while nothing has been confirmed, most rumors now indicate that won’t be the case. 

As with any franchise that ends before its time, there will certainly be fans disappointed that this one has apparently ended before it told the whole story that was planned. But there will almost certainly be Wizarding World movies again, and perhaps they will fare better. 

Eddie Redmayne was the center of the Fantastic Beasts movie trilogy for three blockbuster films. When shooting a magical franchise, the actors are certainly put through the ringer. Whether it’s working through the awkwardness of holding a magic wand for the first time, or reacting to CGI elements added later in the production process, it’s not always easy being in such a big, fantastical film series. However, Redmayne was able to imagine new ways to make the process as easy for him as possible, and once was able to get out of spending an entire film soaked in water.

The Danish Girl actor recently sat down with Vanity Fair to talk about some of the most important moments from his prolific acting career. When discussing his time playing Newt Scamander in the Harry Potter prequel series, Redmayne talked about how he once improvised a way to make one of the films easier on himself as an actor. Apparently, he magically prevented himself from being wet throughout the entirety of the film. The actor detailed: 

There are several spells in the Harry Potter universe that allow wizards to do all sorts of spells to get them out of difficult magical situations. An umbrella spell definitely isn’t out of the realm of possibility in the Wizarding World, and a very clever solution to being drenched throughout the movie. While Redmayne was clearly willing to be wet if that was required of him, as he is a professional, the solution was definitely a better option for everyone involved. Director David Yates was receptive to this, as Redmayne went on to say:

It sounds like Fantastic Beasts was a very collaborative set, which probably made the production process more enjoyable for everyone. When the director is flexible, it allows for a slew of creative ideas to be encouraged, including a magical umbrella keeping the star dry. Yates has directed several films within the Potter world, including the final four Harry Potter films. He must be very comfortable working within this universe which may make him more comfortable with actors taking creative liberties. 

It’s unclear whether there will be more Fantastic Beasts movies in the future. Redmayne has stated he is unsure what the future may hold for his involvement in the franchise. In addition, Yates is seemingly taking on more original film projects, so it may be a while before Fantastic Beasts 4 hits theaters even if development does move forward. However, hopefully it isn’t too long before Redmayne and Yates work together again, as they clearly make a great team, and are wonderful collaborators.

Fans of Eddie Redmayne can check out his latest film The Good Nurse which is currently streaming exclusively for Netflix subscribers. In addition, those wanting to revisit the Fantastic Beasts movies can stream the trilogy with an HBO Max subscription. For more information on other films hitting theaters and streaming this year, make sure to check out our 2022 movie release schedule. 

Eddie Redmayne led a merry band of wizards and fictional creatures in the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them trilogy for six years. That’s a long time to be a part of a franchise, and you’d think that it would be a breeze for such an experienced actor as Redmayne. As it turns out, The Theory of Everything actor suffered from stage fright initially performing in the role, as handling the magic wand felt quite awkward. 

The Oscar-winning actor recently sat down with Vanity Fair and broke down some of the highlights from his lengthy acting career. When discussing his work within the Fantastic Beasts franchise, the actor expressed his gratitude towards the trilogy, while also revealing some of the more stressful aspects of taking on the Newt Scamander role. He said:

I completely understand why this would feel so strange. Before masterful special effects artists put in all the visuals that make the Wizarding World so magical, the actors must feel like they’re holding an arbitrary stick. Acting without the visual magic in front of the performer is probably a major adjustment. Thankfully, Redmayne was able to adapt and gave a “fantastic” performance during his tenure within the Wizarding World. The actor went on to say:

Clearly Eddie Redmayne was not unique in experiencing an initial awkwardness when holding a magical wand while filming a Harry Potter-related film. Even the most experienced actors had a learning curve when presented with such an iconic prop at first. I can only imagine how cast members like Mads Mikkelsen and Jude Law felt holding a wand for the first time. Luckily, everyone in the Fantastic Beasts trilogy are true acting professionals and convinced audiences that they’d been handling these wizarding objects their entire lives. 

Redmayne is not the only one who has expressed wand troubles while making a film in the Wizarding World. Daniel Radcliffe famously broke several wands while pretending to use them as drum sticks while shooting the Harry Potter films. Robert Pattinson, who played Cedric Diggory in The Goblet of Fire, also revealed that he felt dorky holding the magic wand while shooting the film. In turn, he thought holding the wand like a gun to make it seem cooler. Who knew learning how to handle a wand would be such a hurdle for so many Potter actors?

You can experience Eddie Redmayne masterfully wielding a wand in the Fantastic Beasts movies, which are all currently streaming for HBO Max subscribers. In addition, Netflix subscribers can catch Redmayne in his latest film, The Good Nurse, where he stars alongside Jessica Chastain. For more information on other films hitting streaming later this year, make sure to consult our 2022 movie release schedule.

While fans of the Fantastic Beasts franchise may know Eddie Redmayne best for his performance as the bumbling and shy --yet capable -- Magizoologist Newt Scamander, the actor has an impressive and diverse body of work. From playing Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything to his most recent performance as a real-life serial killer in Netflix's new movie release, The Good Nurse, there doesn't seem to be a role Eddie Redmayne isn't ready to tackle. However, his children, especially his daughter, would humorously prefer he sticks to the Wizarding World.

In a recent appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the actor said his children (who are four and six) are confused about what he does for a living. The Danish Girl actor even joked that his kids thought he worked at a sweets shop. While speaking with Colbert, Redmayne recounted a funny anecdote about his children visiting him on the set of his new Netflix movie. His children believed he was set to play the titular Good Nurse, though they later found out that was not the case. Redmayne explained how seeing the trailer for the film affected them:

I'm sure more than a few Fantastic Beasts fans share the same sentiments as Eddie Redmayne's daughter. It's hard enough for fans to see an actor who portrays a beloved character, like Newt, taking on the role of a cold-blooded killer. I can't imagine it's easier for a young child to see their parent in such a dark role. Still, you can't help but chuckle over his little girl's sheer honesty.

Though the three Harry Potter prequel films have been a bit of a mixed bag, each consecutive movie declining at the box office since the franchise kicked off in 2016, many believe the latest installment -- Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore -- to be the best of the bunch. While the series was initially intended to go on for five installments, the fourth and fifth movies have yet to be greenlit. Due to the low box office performance, the Wizarding World follow-ups might not happen for quite some time. 

Recently Eddie Redmayne shared his thoughts about whether the series will continue and expressed his love for playing Newt. He admitted that he doesn't know the answer to whether or not the franchise will move forward. As the actor explained, the future of the Beasts movies is in the hands of series creator J. K. Rowling, director David Yates, and Warner Bros.

There are still many questions surrounding the Fantastic Beasts movies that fans would like to see answered. It would be a shame for the planned movies to go unproduced with narrative threads hanging in the air. Perhaps Redmayne's adorable Late Night anecdote will fire up fans and get the ball rolling on the next installment so that the Newt actor can return to his Wizarding World role. If not for the fans, for his children's sake.  

Unlike the actor's children, if you do want to see Eddie Redmayne play real-life nurse and serial killer Charles Cullen, The Good Nurse is now available to stream with a Netflix subscription. Those looking for more magical fare can check out the Fantastic Beasts trilogy using an HBO Max subscription.

While Taylor Swift is one of the most successful pop stars, especially after the release of her latest album Midnights, she’s also acted in a few movies, including one on the 2022 movie schedule. Now she’s opening up about one big movie musical she auditioned for. The screen test in question was for the adaptation of the classic musical Les Misérables. Swift along with Eddie Redmayne, who played Marius in the film, told the story of just how bad their screen test went. 

Both Swift and Redmayne were on The Graham Norton Show (via EW) to promote their projects Midnights and The Good Nurse, respectively. The story about their Les Mis auditions came up, and Swift said: 

As Swift said, she knew she wouldn’t get the roles. Cosette ended up being played by Mamma Mia! star Amanda Seyfried, and Broadway and West End actress Samantha Barks played Éponine. Both characters have deep relationships with Redmayne’s character in the musical, which is why Swift was supposed to screen-test with him. While Swift knew she wouldn’t get the roles, she wanted to act with Redmayne. She even said the Fantastic Beasts star is one of her “favorite actors,” and she didn’t want to turn down the once-in-a-lifetime experience to work with him. 

She continued the story saying she arrived on set and they put her in a “full 19th-century street urchin costume” and painted her teeth brown. 

Meanwhile, Redmayne was also nervous about the screen test. However, it was for a completely different reason. The scene required the two to hold each other, the actor said: 

So all around this sounded like a hot mess of an audition, however, it’s fun that they can all laugh about it now. What makes this story even more interesting is before Les Mis both performers were extremely successful, however, since 2012 both people have entered an even higher stratosphere of success. 

While Les Mis was successful, and Anne Hathaway won an Oscar for her performance, Redmayne found his way to an Oscar a few years later. He found himself on the 2015 list of Academy Award winners for his remarkable portrayal of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything. Along with his great film performances, the actor has also had a successful stage career, winning two Olivier Awards for his roles in the 2010 production of Red as well as the 2022 production of the musical Cabaret. 

Meanwhile, since 2012, Swift has released nine albums, and her most recent, Midnights, has already broken records. She also has numerous other projects in the works. Plus she has started writing, directing and starring in her music videos, including the short film All Too Well, and the cameo and Easter egg-filled video for “Bejeweled.”

Both Swift and Redmayne are at the top of their crafts, so it’s interesting to hear stories of auditioning and awkward moments in their careers. They are both extremely busy humans who are working on lots of projects. At the moment, you can check out Swift’s album Midnights and Redmayne’s film The Good Nurse, which can be watched with a Netflix subscription. 

Eddie Redmayne has been leading the Harry Potter prequel series, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them since 2016. His character, Newt Scamander is a powerful wizard who fights dark wizards with a bag full of magical creatures by his side. His character may have no problem conjuring up powerful magic, so he figured maybe showing his kids a magic trick would get him some “cool dad points.” Unfortunately, his kids weren’t too impressed.

In a recent interview with Variety's Awards Circuit Podcast, Redmayne discussed his new film, The Good Nurse, and his experience working in the Potter universe in the Fantastic Beasts trilogy. Every dad wants to impress their kids with their work, but he considered that telling them he was actually a wizard could be misleading. The Oscar-winner detailed: 

While Redmayne may not possess the same powers as his wizarding character, the Danish Girl actor thought maybe a simple magic trick would be enough for his kids to see him as such. Unfortunately, this didn’t have the effect he may have intended.

While Eddie Redmayne may not be as magical as his kids had hoped, they still have plenty of reasons to be impressed with their dad. Outside of lending his talents to the Fantastic Beasts trilogy, Redmayne won an Oscar in 2015 for playing Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything. He was nominated again a year later for The Danish Girl. In The Good Nurse, Redmayne plays against type, taking on Charlie Cullen, a prolific serial killer in the 90s through the early 2000s. He stars alongside fellow-Academy Award winner Jessica Chastain.

It's still up in the air whether the Fantastic Beasts trilogy will continue on, as five films were originally planned. The production on the films was riddled with controversy, with Mads Mikkelsen replacing Johnny Depp halfway through the franchise. In addition, the third film, Secrets of Dumbledore was the lowest grossing, so therefore Warner Bros. may not be fully convinced a fourth Fantastic Beasts would lead to enough fan support. Even if this is the end for the Potter prequel, Redmayne certainly left his mark. His “wizarding prowess” helped Fantastic Beasts become a multibillion dollar franchise, even if his kids aren’t impressed by any of it.

You can catch Eddie Redmayne in The Good Nurse, which is currently available to stream for Netflix subscribers. In addition, all three Fantastic Beasts films are also streaming for fans with an HBO Max subscription. For more information on other films coming to streaming platforms this year, check out our 2022 movie release schedule.

The Wizarding World has been entertaining the public for decades, starting with J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels and growing into theme parks, stage plays, and (of course) two different movie franchises. This year saw the release of The Secrets of Dumbledore, which was meant to be the third in a five-part series. But is Fantastic Beasts 4 actually happening? Franchise lead Eddie Redmayne shares his thoughts.

Eddie Redmayne debuted as Newt Scamander in the first Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them movie, which was released back in 2016. He reprised that role in its two sequels, which have unfortunately had a decline in critical and box office success. There’s been no official confirmation of the fourth movie, leading fans to worry if the last two installments in J.K. Rowling’s spinoff series will ever see the light of day. Redmayne was recently asked by IndieWire if he’s hear anything about Fantastic Beasts 4, responding with:

Well, there you have it. It sounds like while Eddie Redmayne hasn’t heard any updates about Fantastic Beasts 4, he’s not convinced that the planned five-movie story will actually be completed. We’ll just have to wait to see if Warner Bros. gives word either way, and if we’ll get to follow the ongoing magical conflict with Grindelwald (who was played by both Johnny Depp and Mads Mikkelsen). 

Eddie Redmayne’s comments about the Fantastic Beasts franchise come as he’s promoting his new movie The Good Nurse, where he plays serial killer Charles Cullen. Eventually the conversation turned to the Wizarding World, and his tenure playing Newt Scamander. Unfortunately he’s got no clue if the fourth movie will actually be greenlit by Warner Bros. Fingers (and wands) crossed.

Back in April of 2022, it was reported that the fate of the fourth and fifth Fantastic Beasts movies would be dependent on the performance of David Yates’ threequel The Secrets of Dumbledore. Unfortunately that project was the lowest-grossing film in the Wizarding World so far, and received mixed reviews. So the question is: was the $405 million box office haul big enough to convince the studio to finish the prequel’s story?

Narratively, there are still a ton of questions surrounding the Fantastic Beasts movies that could seemingly go unanswered if the final movies aren’t produced. For instance, Nagini was noticeably missing from The Secrets of Dumbledore after debuting in the second movie. Tina was also noticeably missing from the threequel's action. Fans are also eager to learn more about Dumbledore and Grindelwald’s relationship, and see their conflict take center stage now that their blood pact is broken. 

Eddie Redmayne can be seen in The Good Nurse October 26th on Netflix. In the meantime, check out the 2022 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

While celebrity divorces typically tend to capture the attention of the public, Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s split is on a whole different level. This is because of their years-long legal battle, and the various allegations of abuse that they’ve each made at each other. And while taking the stand, Heard claims that Depp thought she was having an affair with one of his Fantastic Beasts co-stars.

Since Johnny Depp’s defamation case against Amber Heard began in Virginia, there have been countless headlines about the action in the courtroom. Both actors have taken the stand, with the Aquaman actress doing so most recently. Per a report by the Daily Mail, Heard claims that Depp thought she was having an affair with her Danish Girl co-star Eddie Redmayne, as well as the movie’s director Tom Hooper.

This revelation turned a few heads, especially since Johnny Depp worked with Eddie Redmayne on the first two Fantastic Beasts movies (before being asked to step down from the role of Grindelwald). According to Amber Heard’s recollection, her ex-husband accused her of having an affair with a number of Hollywood names, specifically those she was filming with on sets. Another name involved is Billy Bob Thornton, as Heard alleged on the stand:

Since The Danish Girl hit theaters back in 2015, this would mean that Johnny Depp would go on to work with Eddie Redmayne on Fantastic Beasts after he allegedly thought he was having an affair with his wife Amber Heard. For his part, this didn’t seem to have an effect on the performances given throughout the first two movies from that magical franchise. In the end he’d be replaced by Mads Mikkelsen, after Depp lost his libel case across the pond.

As for Amber Heard’s connection with Billy Bob Thornton, the two actors worked together on the mystery thriller London Fields, which filmed back in 2013. According to Heard, she was accused by Johnny Depp about having an affair with the Love Actually actor multiple times throughout their tumultuous relationship. 

This is just the latest report to come out of the courtroom, with every day of the trial providing new twists and turns. During Amber Heard’s days on the stand, there have been some explosive allegations made about Johnny Depp. She detailed multiple times he was reportedly physically abusive, and even recalled a grueling allegation of sexual assault. 

For his part, Johnny Depp took the stand first, and offered his own allegations of physical abuse. What’s more, both actors’ legal teams have played sobering audio/video footage of confrontations in their former home.

Professionally, Johnny Depp has recently started booking new movie roles, while Amber Heard will be seen in Aquaman 2 on March 17th. In the meantime, check out the 2022 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

When it comes to making blockbuster movies, there are few things more important than managing spoilers. Major tentpole releases go to extreme lengths to try and avoid details being leaked out before they are ready. When it came to the newest of the Harry Potter movies, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, Eddie Redmayne thought that the film’s opening had been spoiled thanks to overzealous media, but details remained hidden because the leaked images were mistaken for the Batcave.

Speaking with IMDb’s Burning Questions, Eddie Redmayne was asked about the toughest scene to film in the new Fantastic Beasts movie. He discusses a scene that he spent largely submerged in water, in December. It was a tough scene to film but it was also nearly given away, as the set was apparently photographed by a drone flying overhead. Luckily, the people getting the pictures actually had no idea what they had shot. Redmayne explains…

To be fair, since The Batman and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore were both filming around the same time, The Batman did also film in the U.K. it would be easy to assume that the water and rocky structure that was seen in the pictures were the exterior of the Batcave. We know now that The Batman’s Batcave was more of a basement than an actual cave, but we didn’t know that at the time. 

The good news is that since people got it wrong, they didn’t know anything about the Fantastic Beasts 3 opening sequence, at least not until now when Eddie Redmayne revealed it. The film has been released in many countries overseas but is only now opening domestically. That’s not to say we didn’t already know about the scene in question, even if we hadn’t seen the set. Redmayne spoke a bit about the water shoot before he filmed it, and how the pandemic delay in filming the new Fantastic Beasts moved what would have been a summer shoot into December.

You can now go see the scene in question and everything else as well, as Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is now in theaters. 

As the Wizarding World of Harry Potter expands out with the third Fantastic Beasts film, playing in theaters as you read this, it’s easy to forget that in its infancy, this spinoff franchise centered around a magizoologist (played by Eddie Redmayne) who was more comfortable being around strange creatures than he was interacting with muggles or wizards. Thanks to everything we have learned in the first two Fantastic Beasts movies, there is a lot more at stake as we head into Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, but we wanted to make sure that the Beasts at the heart of the series don’t get forgotten. 

When given the chance to sit down with the cast of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, we asked series stars Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, Alison Sudol, Dan Fogler, Jessica Williams and Mads Mikkelsen which creatures they’d want in their lives… and which ones absolutely needed to be kept as far away as possible. The Manticore was the unanimous choice from the entire cast of a Fantastic Beast that no one wanted to bring home, with Redmayne telling CinemaBlend:

Jessica Williams went off the board when picking the Fantastic Beast she’d keep out of her home. She selected the Niffler, who on the surface looks like a sweet and cuddly creature and the closest thing to a domesticated dog in the wizarding world. Look at this dude!

She goes so far as to say that she’d rather have “a murderous creature” hanging around as opposed to the Niffler, who she worries would spend too much time stealing everything in the vicinity, raising all sorts of problems. 

We switched gears after that to find out from the cast of The Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore which magical creatures from the ongoing Warner Bros. series that they would like to bring home with them. Several of the cast members, and especially Jude Law, threw their support behind the garden-resembling flower creature Pickett, a male Bowtruckle kept as a pet by Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne). Dan Fogler brings up the excellent point that you can’t eat a salad in front of Pickett without earning yourself a stink eye. But as Redmayne explains:

There’s not nearly as much time for Fantastic Beasts in the new movie Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, as the characters in the film are dealing with the rise to power of Grindelwald – now played by Mads Mikkelsen as opposed to Johnny Depp. As you can tell from the title, the story is going to shift more towards Albus Dumbledore and his work with young students at Hogwarts, thereby tightening the threads and connections to the existing world of Harry Potter. Reviews for the sequel have been solid, so make sure you grab tickets and head out for opening weekend.

The Wizarding World — whether in the Harry Potter movies or the Fantastic Beasts franchise — has long been home to several of cinema’s most beloved heroes and detestable villains, with the likes of “The Boy Who Lived” and “He Who Shall Not Be Named” leading the pack. Over the years, the movies, which are based on books and other texts by J.K. Rowling, have given these characters room to shine despite each title featuring so many witches, wizards, muggles, and magical creatures.

And, that is again the case in the latest entry in the successful film franchise, as the enchanting Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore cast is loaded with unique characters. Let’s take a look at some of those familiar faces from one of the most anticipated new movie releases of 2022.

Eddie Redmayne (Newt Scamander)

Returning as the fearless magizoologist Newt Scamander in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is Eddie Redmayne, who has portrayed the beloved character since the series first got underway back in 2016.

Outside of the two previous entries in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, Redmayne is best remembered for his Academy Award-winning performance in the 2014 Stephen Hawking biographical drama The Theory of Everything. Redmayne has also had memorable roles in everything from The Danish Girl to the Netflix original movie The Trial of the Chicago 7, and Les Misérables to My Week with Marilyn.

Jude Law (Albus Dumbledore)

Jude Law is back once more to portray the incredibly powerful and conflicted Albus Dumbledore, the teacher of Defense Against the Dark Arts who would one day go on to become the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

One of the most prolific and recognizable members of the Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore cast, Law has appeared in countless film, TV, and stage productions throughout his career, including The Talented Mr. Ripley, Cold Mountain, The Young Pope, The Third Day, Henry V, and Hamlet. Law has also had major roles in the Contagion cast and in movies like Captain Marvel and The Holiday.

Mads Mikkelsen (Gellert Grindelwald)

The third actor to take on the role, Mads Mikkelsen plays Gellert Grindelwald, the dark wizard who has been behind the various struggles and conflicts throughout the Fantastic Beasts franchise thus far.

A prolific actor in his own right, Mikkelsen’s talents and versatility have allowed him to play sadistic villains like Le Chiffre in Casino Royale, conflicted scientists like Death Star designer Galen Erso in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and one of the best iterations of the Hannibal Lecter character on Hannibal. With that in mind, his mysterious role in the upcoming fifth Indiana Jones movie could go either way.

Dan Fogler (Jacob Kowalski)

Back again as Jacob Kowalski, the lovable No-Maj baker and trustworthy best friend of Newt Scamander, is Dan Fogler, who brings his charm, comedic timing, and earnestness to the Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore cast.

Known for his TV work on shows like The Walking Dead, The Goldbergs, and numerous others, Fogler also has had a great deal of film roles throughout his career. This includes the 2007 sports comedy Balls of Fury, Kung Fu Panda, Don Peyote, In Like Flynn, and The Argument. He is next to set to portray Francis Ford Coppola in the Paramount+ original series The Offer.

Alison Sudol (Queenie Goldstein)

Returning as Queenie Goldstein, the powerful legilimens who has long been a love interest of Jacob Kowalski, is Alison Sudol.

Outside of the Fantastic Beasts franchise, Sudol has appeared in movies like Between Us, and The Last Full Measure, and on a list of shows that includes CSI: NY, Transparent, and Dig. Sudol also has a music career, with several albums being released over the years. In April 2022, she debuted the video for her latest single, “Peaches,” on her official YouTube page.

Ezra Miller (Credence Barebones / Aurelius Dumbledore)

Ezra Miller is back in the Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore cast as Credence Barebones, a.k.a. Aurelius Dumbledore, the dark, tormented, and forgotten member of the Dumbledore family.

Miller, one of the most recognizable faces in today’s Hollywood, is no stranger when it comes to multi-part film franchises, as they have appeared in the DCEU with titles like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, and Zack Snyder’s Justice League under their belt. They will once again portray Barry Allen in the 2023 superhero film, The Flash. MIller’s other work includes The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Stanford Prison Experiment, and Trainwreck.

Jessica Williams (Eulalie Hicks)

Jessica Williams reprises her role of Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Professor Eulalie “Lally” Hicks, who helps Dumbledore’s team track down Grindelwald and his dark army.

Williams, who previously appeared in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, had also served as a long-time correspondent on The Daily Show and host of 2 Dope Queens, as well as appeared on shows like Love Life Season 2, The Twilight Zone, Girls, and Just For Kicks. Her film work includes Netflix's The Incredible Jessica James, Booksmart, Corporate Animals, and Hot Tub Time Machine 2.

Callum Turner (Theseus Scamander)

Callum Turner appears in the Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore cast Theseus Scamander, Newt’s older brother and British Ministry of Magic Auror, who’s also somewhat of a war hero.

Throughout his career, Turner has appeared in movies like Victor Frankenstein, Emma, The Only Living Boy in New York, and Green Room. His TV work includes shows like The Town, Ripper Street, Glue, War & Peace, and The Capture. Turner is next set to star alongside Joel Edgerton in George Clooney’s upcoming drama about the 1936 gold medal-winning men's Olympic rowing team, Boys in the Boat, according to Deadline.

William Nadylam (Yusuf Kama)

William Nadylam reprises his role of French-Senegalese wizard Yusuf Kama in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, joining Newt Scamander’s team to prevent the destruction of the world.

Outside of his Wizarding World debut in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, in which he attempted to kill Credence Barebones, Nadylam has spent most of his career appearing in French films like L’Absence, L’affaire SK1, and White Material. He has also popped up on various TV shows over the years, including Murphy’s Law, Les Oubliées, and Parlement.

Richard Coyle (Aberforth Dumbledore)

Stepping in to take on the role of Albus Dumbledore’s younger brother, Aberforth, in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is veteran actor Richard Coyle, who brings with him decades of experience on the silver screen and small screen.

Fans of the Netflix original series The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina will recognize Coyle from his portrayal of the frequently menacing Father Blackwood, but that is just his latest contribution to TV. Other shows include Coupling, A.D. The Bible Continues, Strange, and The Fall. His list of film credits includes everything from Happy Now? to A Good Year, and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time to Pusher, with several dozen other features in between.

Victoria Yeates (Bunty Broadacre)

Returning to Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is Victoria Yeates, who once again portrays the character of Bunty Broadacre, Newt Scamander’s trusty assistant.

In addition to popping up as a magical character in the Wizarding World, Yeates has also appeared in another witchcraft-centric series, A Discovery of Witches, on which she portrayed Elizabeth Jackson. But Yeates is probably best remembered for her portrayal of Sister Winifred on the long-running historical drama, Call the Midwife, from 2014 to 2019. Her other TV work includes Holby City and Lip Service.

Fiona Glascott (Minerva McGonagall)

Minerva McGonagall has long been one of the most beloved characters in the Harry Potter movies franchise, with several iconic moments throughout the franchise. And while Maggie Smith isn’t playing  Albus Dumbledore’s close friend, the character is once again portrayed by Fiona Glascott, who first took on the role in 2018, in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.

Over the years, Glascott has popped up in movies like Resident Evil, Brooklyn, and The Duel, as well as shows like Casualty, The Musketeers, and Midsomer Murders, to name only a few.

Katherine Waterston (Porpentina Goldstein)

Although she doesn’t play as big of a role as she did in the previous two movies in the franchise, Katherine Waterston once again shows up as Porpentina “Tina” Goldstein, who has more than enough experience taking on the villainous Gellert Grindelwald.

In addition to being a big part of the first two Fantastic Beasts movies, Waterston has also appeared in a number of major films the past decade or so with titles like Alien: Covenant, Logan Lucky, Mid90s, Steve Jobs, and The World to Come all coming to mind. She also had a brief role on the HBO crime drama series, Boardwalk Empire. Waterston is next set to appear in the second season of Perry Mason, also on HBO.

This are just some of the major players who appear in the Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore cast, as including every witch, wizard, and muggle would make this list as long (if not longer) as the full collection of all Harry Potter books and subsequent texts combined. 

These roommate tales from Andrew Garfield, Jamie Dornan and more U.K. actors keep getting better and better with every recount. They’ve spilled and clarified stories about their days as struggling young actors in Hollywood. Now, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore’s Eddie Redmayne was the latest from the friend group to open up about their living arrangement. While Redmayne has an Oscar under his belt, it seemed mutual friend Robert Pattinson might’ve been the most committed actor. The Fantastic Beasts 3 actor recalled The Batman actor’s unhinged audition technique before they shot to the Hollywood A-list.

Eddie Redmayne's latest entry into the “British upstarts-turned-box office superstars” installment might be the most outrageous one so far. The actor recounted a particular moment shared with Pattinson while being interviewed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. He already spilled on not recognizing his friend and colleague during a gym run-in so why not open up more about their relationship? The Fantastic Beasts 3 actor also gave some insight into the Twilight alum’s acting method from their early Hollywood days.

The thespian was unbothered by his friend’s acting technique despite his unusual approach. The intensity and brooding quality audiences have witnessed on film were forming in the years after starring in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Hearing shrieks after sitting in complete silence would be jarring for everyone. But the Danish Girl actor understood every actor approaches the craft from different angles.

His tale highlighted what it was like uprooting from the U.K. to LA to achieve your Hollywood dreams. While Redmayne and the others were roommates, Pattinson reportedly felt like an outsider in the group. According to Dornan, the actor wasn’t an outcast as much as his star catapulted sooner than his other pals, thanks to the Twilight franchise. Despite his feelings stating otherwise, the actor has been embraced with open arms like when he reunited with Garfield at a GQ party. The reunion vibes continued as the Garfield actor met up with the Dornan at the Oscars. So the friend group has kept their strong bond years after struggling to become successful.

Of course, both actors have become Hollywood stalwarts since being roommates. Pattinson is currently starring in The Batman while Redmayne will entertain viewers as Newt Scamander once again in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. If you want to see what other movies they have coming out, you can check out our 2022 movie schedule.

It’s no secret that superhero movies are a massively powerful force in the entertainment industry, with a number of notable actors playing superheroes on the big screen. Robert Pattinson recently debuted his take on Batman, getting super ripped in the process. And it turns out that he was so buff that even his old friend Eddie Redmayne didn’t recognize him.

Eddie Redmayne and Robert Pattinson are old friends, who were even roommates when trying to break into the world of Hollywood. As such, it seems unlikely that the Fantastic Beasts actor wouldn’t recognize Pattinson. But Redmayne recently shared a funny amusing story on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon about that happening, thanks to The Batman star’s insane fitness regimen. First came some background:

I mean, same. Plenty of us out there can relate to feeling somewhat out of place among the super ripped folks at the gym. Eddie Redmayne might be an accomplished actor of the screen and stage, but even he’s got some gym insecurities. Especially when comparing himself to the superhero version of his friend and peer Robert Pattinson.

It turns out that Robert Pattinson was looking massive filming The Batman, which definitely tracks. There were a few shirtless scenes in the movie that showed just how much the Twilight actor had physically transformed to become the Dark Knight. Eddie Redmayne went on to explain how he realized he was sharing a gym with his former roomie, in his words:

Oops. While Robert Pattinson and Eddie Redmayne are old friends, it turns out that the latter actor couldn’t recognize the superhero version of Pattinson. It shows just how much commitment that the Tenet star put into becoming Batman. And that’s a process that might have to happen again if Matt Reeves and company are given a sequel by Warner Bros. For his part, the filmmaker definitely has ideas for the future. 

The burgeoning franchise will first continue with a Penguin spinoff series for HBO Max. But fans definitely want to see The Batman get a sequel, especially thanks to the debut of Barry Keoghan’s take on The Joker. Fingers crossed.

The Batman is still in theaters now, and Eddie Redmayne’s Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore will follow suit on April 6th (reviews are out now). In the meantime, check out the 2022 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

The saga of the Wizarding World continues! Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore — the third installment of the Harry Potter prequel series — is set to premiere in theaters on April 15. The film stars Jude Law as Albus Dumbledore, Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander, Ezra Miller as Credence Barebone, and Mads Mikkelsen as Gellert Grindelwald. Critics have had the opportunity to screen the franchise’s newest film, and their reviews are in.

Taking place several years after the events of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Fantastic Beasts 3 will show Albus Dumbledore tasking Newt Scamander with a mission that will lead him and his allies into the heart of dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald's army. So, what did critics think about Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore? Will our questions about the great wizard be answered? Let’s take a look, starting with the CinemaBlend review. Our own Mike Reyes rates the film 3.5 stars out of 5, calling it the "best prequel yet" and saying this might be the one that gets the Wizarding World back on track:

Siddhant Adlakha of IGN, however, has the opposite takeaway, rating The Secrets of Dumbledore a "Bad" 4 out of 10 and calling the third movie an un-fantastical Potter prequel with uninteresting secrets. Though two more Fantastic Beast movies are planned, this review argues the series should mercifully be ended here:

Lovia Gyarkye of THR falls somewhere in the middle, saying that while this movie is more focused and more whimsical than its predecessors, it's no less disappointing. Behind-the-scenes drama involving Ezra Miller, as well as J.K. Rowling's views, make it hard for this critic to remain enchanted with the series:

Stephanie Bunbury of Deadline says there are a number of competing protagonists, some potentially meaty themes and, yes, fantastic beasts, but of everything that's happening in the Harry Potter prequel, not much of it makes sense:

Peter Debruge of Variety commends the way J.K. Rowling envisions her story over multiple movies, planting things that will almost certainly pay off in a movie yet to come. However, the plots continue to be overly complicated, serving only to confuse audiences, he says:

Kate Erbland of IndieWire grades Fantastic Beasts 3 a C, saying the film struggles to balance the magical whimsy with its adult themes. This results in feelings of discomfort even during the most magical moments:

The critics may not agree, but we know fans of the franchise are excited to check the newest movie out, and the wait is almost over. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore will arrive in theaters Friday, April 15. Be sure to check out our 2022 Movie Release Schedule to see what other films are coming soon.

The world of Harry Potter has entertained the public for decades, and J.K. Rowling’s magical world has become ingrained in the pop culture landscape. The Fantastic Beasts franchise has been occupying theaters for years now, with the new sequel The Secrets of Dumbledore set to be released shortly. And Draco Malfoy actor Tom Felton was back in the Potter World (and rocking a sharp suit) at the premiere of Fantastic Beasts 3.

The starring cast of the Harry Potter movies became household names, and grew up in front of the public’s eyes. Tom Felton played Draco Malfoy to pitch perfection, and remains one of the franchise’s biggest cheerleaders. Felton got to go back to his magical roots by hosting the recent premiere of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, and looked suave while doing it. You can see an image of Felton’s look below. Ten points to Slytherin.

While there are a number of U.K. actors who fans are betting might replace Daniel Craig as James Bond, maybe we should add Tom Felton to the mix. Because he’s definitely looking sharp in his look for the premiere of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. All he needs is a martini in hand.

Seeing Draco Malfoy in the flesh was no doubt a shock for the Harry Potter fans who were in attendance for that blockbuster’s premiere. There are some images of Tom Felton taking the time to pose with fans, which seems like a magical experience. Check it out,

Of course, Tom Felton wasn’t the only celebrity in attendance for the premiere of the highly anticipated Fantastic Beasts threequel. The cast was there as well, including franchise star Eddie Redmayne. And they look like a handsome pair when appearing together.

The stakes for Newt Scamander have never been higher, as there’s all out war happening in the Wizarding World. The Crimes of Grindelwald saw characters perish, others turn to the dark side, and revealed a major twist with Ezra Miller's character.

Hosting the Fantastic Beasts 3 premiere is just the latest way that Tom Felton has stayed involved in the happenings of the Wizarding World. He recently reunited with his co-stars in Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts, which was released on HBO Max on New Year’s Day. Felton had some sweet moments with fellow actors like Emma Watson and Jason Isaacs.

Of course, some Harry Potter fans out there are hoping to see an even more intense reunion happen with Tom Felton and the cast. Namely a movie adaptation of the Cursed Child plays, which include adult versions of Harry, Draco, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny. The actors themselves have had a variety of reactions to this idea, and there currently aren’t any plans to make the rumored project a reality.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore will hit theaters on April 6th. In the meantime, check out the 2022 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

The Oscars is not only a great time for movie fans to be reacquainted with their favorite actors and filmmakers, but for Hollywood to have its own mix of reunions as well. During the telecast, we saw the show bring together a number of casts back together on stage, including Pulp Fiction, The Godfather and Juno. And over on the red carpet, former roommates Jamie Dornan and Andrew Garfield shared a sweet moment back together. 

Garfield was up for a Best Actor Oscar for portraying Jonathan Larson in Tick, Tick... Boom, which ultimately went to Will Smith after a viral scuffle with Chris Rock. Meanwhile, Jamie Dornan was supporting 2022 Best Picture nominee Belfast. The actors found each other on the red carpet ahead of the Academy Awards and posed for this cute photo: 

Jamie Dornan previously revealed that Andrew Garfield, along with Fantastic Beasts’ Eddie Redmayne and Daredevil’s Charlie Cox were all roommates before they became such prominent actors. They all shared a house together circa 2008 and went out for a lot of auditions together. It’s great to see the pair still close and both doing so well for themselves individually. 

In addition to the four Brits living with one another, they also often hung out with The Batman actor Robert Pattinson. However, as Pattinson recently quipped, he was more of the fifth wheel, as he found Twilight success early while the others were still trying to break out in the business. Andrew Garfield recently reunited with Pattinson at a fancy Hollywood dinner party. Here's one more. 

Just following the reunion between Jamie Dornan and Andrew Garfield, Dornan spoke to E! News about the moment caught on the red carpet. In his words:  

It must have been wild for the old friends to both find themselves at the biggest Hollywood event of the year after their humble beginnings. Jamie Dornan found mainstream success with the Fifty Shades of Grey franchise and has since been exploring a number of genres, including a breakout comedy role in Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar. 

Andrew Garfield, on the other hand, just starred in the most profitable movie since the pandemic with Spider-Man: No Way Home. He also gained major praise for starring in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Netflix musical Tick, Tick… Boom! Maybe these two will collide one day on a movie or TV project next? We shall see!

After several years and multiple delays, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is finally coming to theaters in the spring of 2022, and will offer fans of J.K. Rowling’s sprawling Harry Potter franchise a glimpse at one of the darkest periods in the history of the Wizarding World. The third installment in the Fantastic Beasts series (though certainly not the last) will surely answer some of those burning questions we have all been asking since we last saw Newt Scamander and Albus Dumbledore in the extremely busy The Crimes of Grindelwald back in 2018.

But as we anxiously await the next chapter in the saga, now seems like a perfect time to take a look at what we know about Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore so far, including its release date, cast, and other vital information that everyone should know going in…

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore Release Date Is Set For April 15, 2022

Fans of the franchise have been waiting with bated breath for information on the theatrical release of Fantastic Beasts 3, but we’re happy to say there isn’t much time before the next chapter arrives. In September 2021 Warner Bros. finally revealed the title as Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore along with a release date of April 15, 2022. However, this wasn’t the first time a date had been thrown around over the years.

In April 2019, Warner Bros. issued an official release date of November 12, 2021. Fantastic Beasts 3 was initially expected to release on November 20, 2020, then the studio gave Dune that release date (which was also delayed several times). Production on Fantastic Beasts 3 was initially delayed from starting to film July 2019, to starting instead in late fall 2019. Filming was delayed yet again to start in the spring of 2020 to match the new November 2021 release date. Then the COVID-19 pandemic happened and you pretty much know the story from there.

The Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore Cast Is Led By Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law And Mads Mikkelsen

When Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is released upon the world, it will see most of the cast members from the first two movies in the series return to play their iconic characters with some new faces as well. Taking on the role of self-proclaimed magizoologist Newt Scamander is Eddie Redmayne. Also returning are Jude Law as Albus Dumbledore, Ezra Miller as Credence Barbone/Aurelius Dumbledore, Dan Fogler as Jacob Kowalski, Katherine Waterston as Tin Goldstein, Alison Sudol as Queenie Goldstein, and Callum Turner as Theseus Scamander.

One of the biggest stories surrounding the Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore has been the hiring of Mads Mikkelsen to portray Gellert Grindelwald from Johnny Depp, who stepped away from the franchise shortly after production began.

Other members of the cast include Richard Coyle, Maria Fernanda Cândido, Oliver Masucci, William Nadylam, Jessica Williams, Poppy Corby-Tuech and several others.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore Follows Albus Dumbledore As He Attempts To Stop Gellert Grindelwald’s Plan To Take Control Of The Wizarding World

Following the shocking events of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, the Wizarding World was left in a precarious situation, and by the way Warner Bros.’ official synopsis of the third movie sounds, it doesn’t look like things are going to get better before they get worse. In fact, it looks like things are going to get much worse for everyone involved.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is set to follow Professor Albus Dumbledore as he attempts to stop Gellert Grindelwald from taking control of the Wizarding World and shaping it to meet his desires. And since it was revealed in the final moments of The Crimes of Grindelwald that the two have a blood-pact that prevents them from dueling, Dumbledore enlists Newt Scamander and a small yet fearless team to stop the dark wizard’s plan before it comes to fruition.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore Is Directed By David Yates

David Yates will be continuing with the franchise, potentially to the end. He started in J.K. Rowling's magical world by directing  Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and continued with Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and both Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows movies. He returned to direct the first two Potter prequel movies in the Fantastic Beasts series, and he has officially signed on to helm the third installment. In 2018, longtime producer David Heyman told CinemaBlend he'd like to see David Yates continue to direct all five films. But it sounded like it was partly up to Yates himself, and also dependent on how things played out. 

The Secrets Of Dumbledore Is Not The Final Movie Of The Fantastic Beasts Saga

J.K. Rowling surprised fans when she revealed that she was actually planning to write five movies for the Fantastic Beasts series. Producer David Heyman later explained that she began by expecting three films but then, as she dug deeper and started writing the first script, she realized there was a lot more story to tell and didn't think she could fit it all into three movies.

The five-film Fantastic Beasts series is expected to span from 1926 to 1945, with the final movie including the big duel between Grindelwald and Dumbledore. The second movie was set in 1927 but, as shown above, Rowling hinted at the third movie being set at least in part in the 1930s. There has been no confirmation about the third movie's timeline. Will it lead up to the start of World War II, or would that real-world war be left to play out opposite the magical one in the fourth and fifth movies? Time will tell. (Get it? Time? #classic)

But even though there are two more movies on the way, very little is known about them at this time besides the fact that it looks like the fourth installment won’t be coming for quite some time.

The Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore Trailer Shows The Wizarding World On The Brink Of War

In December 2021, Warner Bros. finally released the long-awaited trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore and it did not disappoint. In addition to featuring some amazing references to the Harry Potter movies, the exciting display of wizarding wonder shows off what’s to be a deadly march to all-out war between the two factions led by Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald. But even though Grindelwald’s forces of evil look as deadly as ever before, Newt Scamander and his team (consisting of a magizoologist, a wizard from an old family, a schoolteacher, and a Muggle) look up to the task. 

What Will Fantastic Beasts 3 Be Rated?

The MPAA won't reveal Fantastic Beasts 3's official rating until closer to the release date. But it's almost certainly going to be PG-13. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was rated PG-13 for "some fantasy action violence." Crimes of Grindelwald was rated PG-13 for "some sequences of fantasy action." Expect something similar for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.

Expect to hear more about Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore as we get closer to the film’s April 15, 2022 release. But while you wait, check out our ranking of the Harry Potter movies and don’t forget to take a glance at our 2022 movie release schedule.

Jamie Dornan has crafted an intriguing and distinct career in the past fifteen years. Many of us were introduced to the actor through his Christian Grey in the Fifty Shades of Grey movies, but he was also the lead of BBC series The Fall with Gillian Anderson, and recently starred in two critically-acclaimed favorites: Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar and Belfast. As the 39-year-old actor reflects on his beginnings, some seriously popular British actors apparently also shared his living space at one time. 

When Dornan recently appeared on LIVE with Kelly and Ryan, he shared that at one time, he lived not only with The Batman actor Robert Pattinson, but a couple Marvel heroes and a big-screen wizard. In the actor’s words: 

That's amazing, am I right? Jamie Dornan recalled a time before Andrew Garfield was Spider-Man, Charlie Cox was Daredevil (and still is?) and Eddie Redmayne was an Oscar winner and Fantastic Beasts’ Newt Scamander. Back then, these guys and Robert Pattinson were all British buds all living at the same address, just trying to make it in Hollywood. Thirteen years later, all of them are stars. 

As Jamie Dornan alluded to, and as one can instantly imagine, these actors were going up for the same auditions much of the time. According to the Fifty Shades of Grey actor, they would actually help each other out and trust the best man would get the job. The actor expanded on their living environment: 

Let’s see, they all certainly had their own interesting journeys with a look at their careers. Charlie Cox arguably got the first high-profile role of the roommates when he starred in 2007’s Stardust alongside Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert De Niro. Robert Pattinson seriously blew up in 2008 when he nabbed the role of Edward Cullen in Twilight. 

Eddie Redmayne steadily starred in a number of small movies like The Yellow Handkerchief and The Other Boleyn Girl before really finding a name for himself in Les Miserables in 2012. Andrew Garfield had a bit of a slow burn as well, appearing in under-the-radar favorites like The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus and Never Let Me Go before starring in The Social Network in 2010. 

Jamie Dornan was a late bloomer, with many audiences first seeing the actor in ABC’s Once Upon a Time in 2011 prior to taking on larger projects a couple years later. It’s certainly cool to imagine these five Brit actors all having beers and frozen pizzas before becoming A-list stars. 

The first trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore has been released, so Harry Potter fans finally have some footage to absorb from this latest entry in the Wizarding World. One thing that definitely didn’t go unnoticed is the franchise’s continued commitment to telling the story of Dumbledore and Grindelwald, as well as the continued unraveling of what exactly is happening with Credence Barebone. We even saw that Jacob, a mere Muggle, received a wand for protection!

One thing we didn’t see is a lot of details on what’s going on with Newt Scamander, and frankly, I think that’s the right call. Fantastic Beasts 3’s latest trailer seems to indicate that the movie is going to focus less on Newt Scamander and more on its other characters, which is absolutely the right call provided that’s what’s happening. 

Newt Scamander Is The Least Interesting Character In Fantastic Beasts

Let me set the record straight in saying that, on paper, Newt Scamander is an interesting character. His vast knowledge of the mythical creatures of the Wizarding World would make him an invaluable ally in any situation, especially those where an incredibly dangerous monster is on the loose. The real problem is that the Fantastic Beasts franchise is barely about “fantastic beasts” or the locations in which they reside. Instead, Newt's been thrown into an adventure that’s far more interesting to fans and completely out of his area of expertise. 

As fans, no one should feel bad they don’t care about Newt Scamander right now. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald relegated him to a side character in a franchise that was tailor-made for him. Now, in the few scenes we see of Newt in The Secrets of Dumbledore, he’s leading folks around small creatures and doing crab walks. The sequence feels like a scene shoe-horned in to justify his character’s existence in the movie, which is absolutely wild considering he’s the main character.

Fantastic Beasts Just Needs To Commit To Telling The Better Story

Dumbledore and his family drama hijacked Newt Scamander’s franchise from him, and truthfully, it is what it is. It’s not like Fantastic Beasts can just pull out of telling that story now, and the damage done to Newt Scamander has been carried out. Hopefully The Secrets of Dumbledore just acknowledges the true story in this installment and allows Newt to take a back seat alongside the rest of the cast for his segments while the greater story unfolds. 

Is it unfortunate that the story of Dumbledore’s past vastly overshadows Newt Scamander’s story about taking days to figure out whether or not he’ll remain neutral in a literal war between good and evil? It is, but the longer Fantastic Beasts commits to keeping Newt the main character and telling the story through his eyes, the more the franchise suffers.

Newt Being A Hufflepuff Is Part Of The Problem

Imagine if Harry Potter was told from the perspective of Ron Weasley, or, Neville Longbottom. Neville, a Gryffindor but also someone that exhibits Hufflepuff energy, shows exactly why they don’t make for great main characters. Sure, loyalty, patience and niceness are great characteristics, but they often make for a boring lead. It took Neville three-fourths into the Harry Potter series to finally do something that was actually cool, and I have a feeling the same thing is going to happen to Newt in Fantastic Beasts. 

Sure not all Hufflepuffs are boring, as there's Cedric Diggory. Cedric was a legitimately good character for one book, and how did that work out for him? He died, and to his credit, it’s one of the best deaths in the franchise. Cedric’s death helped propel Harry Potter into a more mature tone and helped the series progress as well. 

Unfortunately, Fantastic Beasts can’t really give Newt Scamander a Cedric Diggory type of exit. He’s the face of the franchise and played by the very talented Eddie Redmayne as well. Killing off Newt would remove one of the biggest stars from the franchise and make the title “Fantastic Beasts” entirely irrelevant. If Newt Scamander dies in this saga, I can’t imagine it’s going to happen until the final act, thus culminating in the ultimate Hufflepuff combination of creating a cool moment in the 11th hour like Neville, but also dying for emotional impact like Cedric. Just like that, Newt Scamander would be the greatest Hufflepuff of all time. 

Can Fantastic Beasts Shift Back To Newt While Still Telling Its Story? 

Looking at where things are headed in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore, it feels as though the franchise is doing the best thing possible in shifting the story more towards Dumbledore and his drama with Grindelwald. Of course, we still haven’t seen the movie yet, and it’s possible the trailers just present it as such while Newt still gets a rather hefty amount of screen time and continues to look like a fish out of water. 

If there is a way for Newt to be at the center of this very Dumbledore-centric story, there needs to be a meaningful way to tie him to all the drama that’s currently going on. The Obscurus started off as a great justification for Newt’s involvement, but most of that felt undone by the end of the movie when it became clear that Credence was the host of this magical parasite. Newt needs a legitimate reason to be included in Dumbledore’s story, and to be less of a guy trying to find his story in one that isn’t his. I’m not exactly sure how Fantastic Beasts goes about that, and perhaps we’ll be surprised by The Secrets Of Dumbledore. That seems doubtful considering the series once again went with a title that all but takes the focus entirely off Newt, but hey, maybe I'll be proven wrong. 

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore will debut in theaters Friday, April 15th, 2022. Stick around for more updates on the franchise in the meantime, as well as more opinions on some of the various changes happening in this franchise.

The Danish Girl was one of 2015’s most acclaimed films, but some critics and online commentators called out lead Eddie Redmayne for playing transgender artist Lili Elbe. Even though the role proved to be controversial, Redmayne scored multiple accolades, including a Best Actor Oscar nomination. Years after receiving backlash for taking on the role, the Fantastic Beasts star revealed his regrets related to The Danish Girl.

Taking on the life of Lili Elbe proved to be a double-edged sword for the Oscar winner. Eddie Redmayne found himself being praised and criticized for playing the transgender artist. Looking back at the role now, Redmayne is reflective about the controversy surrounding it. The Trial of the Chicago 7 star shared with The Times what he regrets about playing the artist, saying:

Years after the controversy, Eddie Redmayne has evolved his thought process about The Danish Girl. As the Oscar winner pointed out, not enough transgender actors and actresses get the opportunity to get great roles in blockbusters and smaller films. Many stars like Mj Rodriguez and Laverne Cox have been vocal about their difficulties in Hollywood.

But it’s not just Eddie Redmayne’s fault for the casting. Some of the responsibility must fall on movie studios for not taking a chance on someone who's lived the experience. So becoming Lili Elbe might’ve kept a transgender actor or actress from receiving a much-needed career boost. It seemed now The Good Nurse star looks back with some hindsight and takes some responsibility.

Eddie Redmayne’s Danish Girl regrets showcased the growth he has experienced since accepting the role. Redmayne has become an ally for transgender rights and representation. When Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling made some offensive comments about transgender women, the Hollywood star was one of the most vocal defenders. He had joined a chorus of past and current Wizarding World stars in speaking out against Rowling.

Having become an ally, Eddie Redmayne showed anyone can evolve even after a major faux pas. Hopefully Redmayne will continue to speak up and out for transgender representation in Hollywood. As an A-lister, maybe Redmayne’s words will help push for better representation in film. As Hollywood strives for more inclusion, audiences are looking forward to seeing Redmayne as Newt Scamander in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, which arrives in theaters on April 15, 2022. If you want to still witness his impressive performance, you can stream The Danish Girl on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

The mysterious Fantastic Beasts sequel is coming our way eventually, with Eddie Redmayne set to reprise his role as Newt Scamander alongside much of the cast we fell in love with in the two previous Harry Potter spinoff films. And on the dark side so to say is Gellert Grindelwald, who Mads Mikkelsen is taking on after Johnny Depp’s dramatic exit from the franchise. And apparently he’ll go head-to-head with our favorite creature-loving Hufflepuff.

Yes, we’ve now heard that Newt and Grindelwald will be engaged in epic battle sequences against one another. When USA Today recently spoke to Mads Mikkelsen about his work on Fantastic Beasts 3, it was reported that the Doctor Strange actor was engaged in work for “three weeks straight” due to an on-screen battle with Eddie Redmayne for the movie’s conclusion.

This is the Wizarding World after all, so that probably means a lot of long hours of wand-waving choreography and reciting magical spells for the two talented actors. Nonetheless, this is super exciting because we still have virtually no idea what to expect from the third Fantastic Beasts movie almost a year before its release – except for the fact that it’s been delayed multiple times (even pre-pandemic) and made a huge recasting move regarding its main villain.

It’s also optimistic news because Eddie Redmayne’s Newt Scamander seemed to be somewhat sidelined after the first movie due to a slew of other characters being introduced into the franchise, including Jude Law’s younger iteration of Dumbledore. 2018’s Crimes of Grindelwald introduced some more complications, including complicated family ties for Ezra Miller’s Credence and fan-favorite Queenie picking the side of Grindelwald.

There are a lot of loose ends for the third movie to tie up, and the film definitely needs to step some things up following some mixed to negative reviews for the 2018 sequel. However, a major battle sequence between Newt and Grindelwald is a good start.

Mads Mikkelsen replaced Johnny Depp in the role after the actor’s legal situation with ex-wife Amber Heard led to Warner Bros asking him to step down from the franchise. Mikkelsen has already spoken about taking on the role, sharing that he’ll need to create some bridges between Depp and his performances, but he most certainly isn’t planning to copy what the Pirates of the Caribbean actor did with the role. After Fantastic Beasts, Mikkelsen is joining Indiana Jones 5 to play another high-profile role.

Fantastic Beasts 3 is set to be released on July 15, 2022 and is expected to be one of five Harry Potter spinoff films in the prequel franchise. Stick with us here on CinemaBlend for more updates about what else is going on in the Wizarding World.

The Wizarding World franchise encompasses more than just the Harry Potter series. Starting with 2016’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and continuing with 2018’s Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, moviegoers have watched Newt Scamander’s magical adventures unfold decades before the Boy Who lived was born. We’re now approaching the midpoint of this particular journey, with Fantastic Beasts 3 in the midst of production and on track to premiere in 2022.

Warner Bros is keeping plot details for the threequel close to the proverbial chest for now, but fortunately, we at least know who’s comprising the lineup in this next sorcerous outing. Below are all the actors who have been announced or reported to appear in Fantastic Beasts 3 so far, many of whom you’ve already acquainted with in this franchise.

Eddie Redmayne

It wouldn’t be a Fantastic Beasts movie without Newt Scamander involved, so of course Eddie Redmayne would be back. To no one’s surprise, he sided against Gellert Grindelwald (more on him later) in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, so needless to say Fantastic Beasts 3 will involve him embarking on some kind of journey involved with defeating the dark wizard. With Newt around, you can also count on more of his amazing creatures being featured (it’d be pretty weird for those to be completely dropped given this spinoff series’ title), although it remains to be seen how many of them will be new.

Katherine Waterston?

Katherine Waterston plays Tina Goldstein in the Fantastic Beasts series, who was in a demoted position when we met her in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Luckily, her reputation improved following that movie, and she was carrying out work as an Auror for the MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States of America) when The Crimes of Grindelwald rolled around. Like Newt, Tina decided to fight against Grindelwald, though she now finds herself subsequently embroiled in some family drama, which we’ll discuss soon. While it initially seemed like a foregone conclusion that Tina would be back, Waterston wasn't in the first Fantastic Beasts 3 trailer or any of the following previews. Is it possible that the character is sitting out this round of magical action?

Alison Sudol

While it looked like Alison Sudol’s Queenie Goldstein (Tina's sister) and Dan Fogler’s Jacob Kowalski had happy times ahead of them at the end of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, it turns out that the MACUSA banned wizards and non-magical people from marrying. So Queenie cast a love charm on Jacob to convince him to elope in Great Britain, which left him in a dazed state. Eventually Newt Scamander broke the enchantment, and being angered upon learning what happened to him, Jacob left Queenie. Later in the movie, Queenie decided to side with Gellert Grindelwald, as she believed that under his rule, she and Jacob could live their lives together free from oppression. So in Fantastic Beasts 3, she’ll be by Grindelwald’s side as he carries out the next phases of his grand plan.

Dan Fogler

After being freed from the love charm, Dan Fogler’s Jacob Kowalski accompanied Newt Scamander on his next journey, exposing him to even more wonders from the magical world. Despite his anger towards Queenie about what she’d done with him, Jacob was still interested in living a life with her. Unfortunately, by the time they reunited, Queenie had already been taken in by Gellert Grindelwald’s ideology, whereas Jacob found it repulsing. The two still love each other, but they’re now on opposite ideological sides. So while he’s not capable of casting spells, Jacob continues to be an important player in this saga.

Mads Mikkelsen

Much like Voldemort in the original Harry Potter series, Gellert Grindelwald has cemented himself as the main antagonist in the Fantastic Beasts film series. We know he’ll ultimately be defeated, but as of The Crimes of Grindelwald, he’s amassed a sizable following and is more determined than ever for impose a new world order where pureblooded wizards rule the land. However, Grindelwald won’t look quite the same when he returns in Fantastic Beasts 3. After Johnny Depp lost his libel case in the U.K., Warner Bros requested that he step down from the role, and he obliged. Several weeks later, Doctor Strange and Rogue One star Mads Mikkelsen was cast as his replacement, and unless Mikkelsen gets caught in his own controversy, it stands to reason he’ll be playing the character for the rest of the Fantastic Beasts series.

Jude Law

Albus Dumbledore was a key character in the Harry Potter series, and now he holds a similar position in the Fantastic Beasts series since Jude Law debuted as the younger version of the character in The Crimes of Grindelwald. Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald go way back, having once been allies and more, but now they’re enemies, with Dumbledore doing his best to thwart Grindewald’s reign of terror. At the end of The Crimes of Grindelwald, Newt Scamander delivered to Dumbledore a vial he had his Niffler steal from Grindelwald containing a blood pact that prevents Dumbledore and Grindelwald from dueling each other, although Dumbledore believes it can be destroyed. Since we know these two will eventually battle one another in a showdown for the ages, perhaps Fantastic Beasts 3 will show how the vial is destroyed. It’s also worth mentioning that Albus isn’t the only member of the Dumbledore family who involved in the Fantastic Beasts story…

Ezra Miller

Ezra Miller’s Credence Barebone was introduced in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them as a young man who hosted an Obscurus, but The Crimes of Grindelwald revealed that there’s much more to him. After surviving the events of the first Fantastic Beasts movie, the sequel saw Credence meeting Nagini and searching for clues about his heritage. It was initially believed that Credence was Corvus Lestrange V, the long-lost half brother of Leta, but that proved not to be the case. Instead, after siding with Gellert Grindelwald, Credence learned that his real name is Aurelius Dumbledore, making him Albus and Aberforth's long-lost brother. Grindelwald plans to manipulate Credence’s power to kill Albus, and has convinced Credence that Albus wants to kill him. We’ll have to wait and see if Credence stays by Grindelwald’s side for the entirety of Fantastic Beasts 3 or if he’s convinced to switch allegiances.

Callum Turner

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald opened up the Scamander family by introducing Theseus, Newt’s older brother who works as an Auror for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and is described as a “war hero.” Although the brothers have contrasting personalities and had a bit of an awkward dynamic in The Crimes of Grindelwald because Theseus was now engaged to Newt’s former flame Leta Lestrange, they get along reasonably well. Sadly, Leta sacrificed her life during the sequel to save the Scamander brothers, leaving Theseus devastated. No doubt Callum Turner’s character will still be working to apprehend Grindelwald during Fantastic Beasts 3, although it’s worth considering whether he’s acting strictly by the book or is willing to break the rules to seek vengeance.

Jessica Williams

Much like the blink-and-you-miss-it cameo of Zoe Kravitz’s Leta Lestrange in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Jessica Williams only briefly appeared in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald as Eulalie Hicks, a professor at the Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Nicholas Flamel communicated with Eulalie through his magical book, and she urged him to help Newt Scamander. While it hasn’t been revealed yet how Eulalie fits into the Fantastic Beasts 3 picture, rest assured, she’ll have a larger role rather than just cameo again.

William Nadylam

William Nadylam’s Yusuf Kama was hunting Credence Barebone during Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. When Yusuf was a child, his mother, Laurena, was kidnapped by Corvus Lestrange IV and later died giving birth to his daughter, Leta Lestrange. Yusuf’s father made Yusuf swear an Unbreakable Vow to kill the person Corvus loved most, which turned out to be his son Corvus V, who was born from a different woman. However, as mentioned earlier, Credence was not Corvus V, who had actually died as a child. So Yusuf wasn’t able to avenge his mother’s death as planned, but he’ll reportedly be around for Fantastic Beasts 3, and since he didn’t cross the flames to join Grindelwald’s groups, we presumably count on him either being one of Newt’s allies or at least not cause trouble for him.

Poppy Corby-Tuech

Oftentimes an evildoer is accompanied by a right-hand person, and for Gellert Grindelwald, that’s Vinda Rosier, played by Poppy Corby-Tuech. Vinda is committed to bringing forth Grindelwald’s vision for a society where pureblooded wizards rule over everyone else, and she was the one who found the distraught Queenie and brought her before her master. While there’s still three movies left to go in the Fantastic Beasts series, it’s probably a safe bet that Vinda will remain by Grindelwald’s side rather than have a change of heart.

Victoria Yeates

When he’s not trying to stop dark wizards from taking over the world, Newt Scamander works in the Beasts Division of the British Ministry of Magic’s Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Helping him with his work following the publication of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is his assistant Bunty, played by Victoria Yeates. Newt tasked Bunty with looking after his creatures when he went to Paris in The Crimes of Grindelwald, so we’ll have to wait and see if she’s on beast-sitting duty again for Fantastic Beasts 3 or if she’ll be able to participate in the action this time around.

Richard Coyle

Finally, we come to Richard Coyle, who is so far the only new actor who’s slated to appear in Fantastic Beasts 3. Coyle confirmed his involvement on social media, but didn’t reveal any details about the character he’s playing. So whether he’s a wizard or non-magical person, Grindelwald supporter or member of Dumbledore camp, or somewhere in between, all that’s being kept under wraps. Coyle is arguably best known for playing Father Blackwood in the Netflix series The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, so he has some experience playing around in a magical world.

As things stand now, Fantastic Beasts 3 is primed to work its magic in theaters on July 15, 2022. Keep visiting CinemaBlend for more updates on how the threequel is coming along, and if you’re curious about movies arriving in theaters sooner, be sure to look through our 2021 release schedule.

The continual delays of film productions and releases have had all sorts of consequences. The biggest, of course, is simply that the biggest films haven't been able to be released at all. Major franchises like the Marvel Cinematic Universe have had to reorder their entire slate because of that. Productions going back in front of the camera now have to do so with a host of new protocols in place. However, there are some other unfortunate consequences for the performers that come with delays. As Eddie Redmayne recently explained that the delays in Fantastic Beasts 3 have resulted in some scenes being more difficult to film than they otherwise would be.

In this case, it has to do with when, not how, the scenes were filmed. Eddie Redmayne explains to Variety that he has some scenes in Fantastic Beasts 3 that required him to do some swimming. If the film had gone in front of cameras on schedule, the scene would have been shot over the summer, when one assumes, the water would have been at the very least a vaguely reasonable temperature. Unfortunately, it didn't work out, and that meant Redmayne had to go swimming in the winter. The actor explains...

The U.K. is known for many wonderful things, but its weather is not one of them. A British winter is, by definition, pretty harsh and not the time of year one would ever go swimming on purpose. It's likely that was even taken into account when the original production schedule was put together, but then unavoidable delays hit and everything had to change.

Fantastic Beasts 3's recent delays were, like every other movie, due to the global pandemic, but the film's production woes pre-date even that. Originally, the movie was set to start filming in the summer of 2019, but was pushed into the fall. At that time the expectation was that the movie would be released in 2020, but the movie kept being pushed back. Then it was going to begin filming in the spring of 2020, and that's when the pandemic came along and ruined those plans as well.

The film then saw one additional brief delay after Johnny Depp lost his role as Grindelwald as the result of the actor's ongoing legal disputes with ex-wife Amber Heard. He has now been replaced by Mads Mikkelsen, and production is moving forward with Fantastic Beasts 3 eyeing a July 2022 release date.

I wouldn’t necessarily describe Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial of the Chicago 7 as a comedy. The movie follows the true-life trial of seven protestors who got caught up in a wave of violence and police brutality outside of the Democratic National Convention in 1968. In telling their story, the movie makes shockingly relevant connections to our contemporary headlines… but I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you that yes, there are laughs in this movie. Well-earned, material-sensitive laughs. They were unexpected, and also appreciated as tension breakers.

When we had the opportunity to interview The Trial of the Chicago 7 co-lead Eddie Redmayne about the movie, I had to ask him about how they approached the humor in the script, because the subject matter could make this story very preachy and overly dramatic. But as he points out, if you are familiar with Aaron Sorkin’s approach as a screenwriter – in movies like The Social Network, Steve Jobs, Moneyball or Charlie Wilson’s War – then you know that humor often is an entry point for the storyteller. Redmayne said:

Redmayne’s right. Aaron Sorkin is a master at seeing what’s humorous in what’s really an absurd situation, and there are moments during the trial that was staged for The Chicago 7 that will have you shaking your head and wondering how we allowed ourselves to get to that point. Then, you might look around and keep asking yourself that question.

But that humor, while subtle, helps Aaron Sorkin’s film, The Trial of the Chicago 7, fly by on its own energies and intelligent creativity. It’s a vital history lesson embedded in a vibrant courtroom thriller, where Eddie Redmayne plays social and political activist Tom Hayden opposite Sacha Baron Cohen’s Abbie Cohen and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s Bobby Seale. Here’s Redmayne, talking about Sorkin’s funny bone:

The good news is that you no longer have to wait to watch what I consider to be one of the best movies released this year. Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial of the Chicago 7 is now streaming on Netflix, so make it part of your weekend plans. I expect we will be discussing this one during the duration of the crazy Oscar season we are about to wade into.

Seven months ago, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a lot of movie and television productions being shut down, no matter how far along they were. In the case of Fantastic Beasts 3, it had only just begun principal photography when the cast and crew were told to go home. Now as 2020 starts drawing to a close, the next installment in the Wizarding World franchise is finally back to rolling cameras, and it’s apparent to star Eddie Redmayne how different things are compared to the pre-COVID times.

Naturally with the pandemic going strong, movie and TV productions have to take numerous health and safety precautions to ensure the safety of those on set. Here’s what Eddie Redmayne recently had to say about what his experience making Fantastic Beasts 3 in the midst of COVID-19 has been like:

Eddie Redmayne talked about the Fantastic Beasts 3 filming process during his appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. While he understandably couldn’t provide any details about the threequel’s plot, it sounds like so far, the actor’s been impressed with the efforts that have been taken to decrease the chances of people getting sick while making the movie. There’s no question that things like mask-wearing and COVID testing are a necessity to film things right now, and if Fantastic Beasts 3 is looking to meet its current release date, then rolling cameras needed to happen now rather than even later.

Of course, as Eddie Redmayne noted, filming’s only been going on for a few weeks so far following that essentially false start in March, so there’s still a long way to go before principal photography concludes. And while taking these health and safety precautions is important, those still don’t 100% guarantee that someone won’t contract the virus. Just look at what The Batman and Jurassic World: Dominion have gone through after they resumed their respective productions. So fingers crossed Fantastic Beasts 3 doesn't go through similar troubles.

For now though, it sounds like it’s been relatively smooth sailing on Fantastic Beasts 3, which will see Eddie Redmayne once more reprising the role of Newt Scamander, one of the Wizarding World’s top magizoologists in the early 20th century. While we don’t know the specifics of what Newt will be going through in the threequel, it will involve him once more clashing with Johnny Depp’s Gellert Grindelwald, the most dangerous dark wizard at this point in history.

Other familiar faces that will be back for Fantastic Beasts 3 include Katherine Waterston’s Tine Goldstein, Alison Sudol’s Queenie Goldstein, Dan Fogler’s Jacob Kowalski, Jude Law’s Albus Dumbledore, Ezra Miller’s Credence Barebone and Jessica Williams’ Eulalie Hicks, the latter of whom will have a much bigger role this time around compared to her presence in The Crimes of Grindelwald. Following Fantastic Beasts 3, two more movies will follow to close out this era of the Wizarding World film franchise.

Fantastic Beasts 3 is still intended to work its magic in theaters on November 12, 2021, although if that date is later changed, we’ll be sure to let you know. Don’t forget to look through our 2021 release schedule to learn what other movies are supposed to play on the big screen next year.

Among the many ways the general public is aware of actor Eddie Redmayne is from him playing Newt Scamander in the Fantastic Beasts film series. Redmayne has brought the intelligent, yet introverted wizard to life twice so far, and naturally he’ll be back for next year’s Fantastic Beasts 3. With filming on the threequel having resumed, Redmayne recently gave his take on the controversy surrounding the creator of the Wizarding World lore, J.K. Rowling.

The Harry Potter author and screenwriter of the Fantastic Beasts movies has come under fire over the last several months after tweeting a series of posts about the transgender community that many people found offensive. In the aftermath, actors like Daniel Radcliffe and Harry Potter fan sites like MuggleNet and The Leaky Cauldron have come out in support of transgender people.

While speaking with The Daily Mail, Eddie Redmayne mentioned how was alarmed by the “vitriol” that was directed at J.K. Rowling on social media, which he described as “absolutely disgusting” and led him to sending her a private note. However, Redmayne also said he disagreed with her comments, noting that he has many “trans friends and colleagues” who are having their “human rights challenged around the world and facing discrimination on a daily basis.” Describing the insults that have been directed at the transgender community as “absolutely disgusting,” the actor continued:

So while Eddie Redmayne made it abundantly clear that his views on the transgender community do not align with J.K. Rowling’s, he was nonetheless displeased with the general public reaction’s towards what she said. Redmayne previously played a trans woman in the 2015 historical drama The Danish Girl, which netted him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

Along with his comments about J.K. Rowling, Eddie Redmayne also recently talked about how he doesn’t like to discuss political topics because he’s afraid his public platform could end up serving as a detriment to causes he cares about. Ironically, Redmayne’s next movie sees him diving deep into the political arena, as he’s playing activist Tom Hayden in Netflix’s The Trial of the Chicago 7.

As for Fantastic Beasts 3, it was supposed to begin filming in mid-March, but because of the current health crisis, production had to be delayed at the last minute, and cameras didn’t actually start rolling until last week. No official plot details have been revealed about the threequel yet, but Redmayne will be joined by plenty of familiar faces, including Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Jude Law and Johnny Depp and Jessica William, the latter of whom will have an expanded role after her character, Professor Eulalie "Lally" Hicks, briefly appeared in The Crimes of Grindelwald.

Fantastic Beasts 3 will work its magic in theaters on November 12, 2021. Find out what other movies are supposed to come out next year with our 2021 release schedule.

Politics is a potentially dicey topic at the best of times, but it takes on an entirely new dimension for celebrities. By virtue of their public persona, an actor has a platform that would allow them to speak, and be heard, on topics that are important to them. Many choose to use that platform to do exactly that. However, Eddie Redmayne, who appears in the very politically charged Trial of the Chicago 7 admits that he generally avoids political topics because he's not sure that his celebrity platform isn't actually harmful to those causes.

Speaking with THR, Eddie Redmayne says that he finds it "challenging" to speak publicly on political topics because, while he has a more public platform than most, that same platform puts him in a position where he's not sure he's the best possible spokesman. And so, instead, he chooses to remain mostly quiet and advocate for the causes he cares about only to people he already knows. According to Redmayne...

It's a perspective that probably exists not only among some celebrities but also among a lot of people who aren't celebrities. We're all probably a little guilty of doing things that maybe aren't in perfect alignment with the causes we hold dear, and when you stop to think about it, that can really make you question yourself. How do you ask that other people reduce their carbon footprint if you know your own isn't that great? Eddie Redmayne himself doesn't necessarily have an answer to that, and so he has decided to remain silent even though, one can assume from his example, that climate change is a topic that he does find important.

Eddie Redmayne's next film certainly will be making a political statement. The Trial of the Chicago 7 tells the story of seven people who were charged with crimes following protests surrounding the 1968 Democratic National Convention. While the parallel between the film and the recent Black Lives Matter protests is impossible to miss, it was completely unintentional, as the film had been in development for years. Some of Eddie Redmayne's co-stars in the movie, Jeremy Strong and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, marched in those protests.

The Trial of the Chicago 7, the second directorial effort of Aaron Sorkin, is getting some solid reviews. The movie is opening for a limited theatrical run today and will arrive on Netflix on October 15.

The streaming war has really heated up over the past few years, as various services compete for supremacy. Netflix has been putting out a ton of original movie content, in addition to their myriad TV series. Plenty of filmmaker have made their way to streaming, including the legendary Aaron Sorkin and his new legal drama The Trial of the Chicago 7. And Sorkin brought an A+ cast to bring the real-life story to life on film.

Aaaron Sorkin was preparing to film The Trial of the Chicago 7 back in 2007, which eventually fell through due to the writer's strike and Steven Spielberg dropped out as director. Sorkin is directing and wrote the new Netflix movie, which features familiar faces like Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Eddie Redmayne, and Michael Keaton. You can check out the trailer for the new drama below.

Aaron Sorkin is the master of legal dramas, and it looks like he's back in the groove for The Trial of the Chicago 7. The story itself is real, and will no doubt make for an even more visceral moviegoing experience when it hits Netflix in just days. And in the process the streaming service further proves itself as as force in the film world.

The trailer for The Trial of the Chicago 7 quickly establishes the movie's setting: 1969 America in the midst of the Vietnam War. It's a time that notoriously divided the country, with protests against the war happening with our continued involvement overseas. We see the tension rising immediately in the footage, as Eddie Redmayne's Tom Hayden organizes protests during in Chicago during the Democratic National Convention.

We're also quickly introduced to Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character Richard Schultz, who is ultimately tasked with prosecuting the titular group of activists who were on trial. We watch as armed officers clash with protestors, and ultimately eight people are arrested over allegations of enticing a riot. Yes there are actually eight characters, with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's Bobby Seale being the outlier.

Fresh off of his Emmy win for Watchmen, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has a ton of exciting projects coming down the line. The Trial of the Chicago 7 saw him collaborate with Aaron Sorkin, with Abdul-Mateen no doubt thrilled to wrap his lips around the writer's signature dialogue. He's playing Black Panther Party co-creator Bobby Seale, who was notoriously tied and gagged for speaking up during the trial.

Throughout the the trailer for The Trial of the Chicago 7 some of the twists and turns of the legal proceedings are teased. Jurors are removed and Frank Langella's Judge Julius Hoffman puts up various road blocks along the way including Bobby Seale not having legal representation. The details of this real-life trial are infamous, which is no doubt what interested Aaaron Sorkin.

Rounding out the cast are plenty of familiar faces including Sasha Baron Cohen, Eddie Redmayne, Skins actor Daniel Flaherty, and American Horror Story favorite John Carroll Lynch. Additionally, the great Michael Keaton is playing lawyer Ramsey Clark and Succession's Jeremy Strong is portraying activist Jerry Rubin.

The Trial of the Chicago 7 will be released September 25th on Netflix. In the meantime, check out our 2020 release list to plan your next movie experience.

For months, many big movie productions had shut down due to COVID-19, including the sequel Fantastic Beasts 3. That production, which will return to the world full of witchcraft and wizardry, only just got the green light last year and reportedly had a brief run into filming this year before taking a hiatus. While these breaks sound like they’re costing a lot, according to Eddie Redmayne, they’ve been helpful for Fantastic Beasts 3.

No one wants to see their work get halted, but that’s exactly what happened to Fantastic Beasts 3 back in March along with plenty of other movies. That might sound like bad news, but as the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining. While speaking with CinemaBlend’s Sean O’Connell about his upcoming film The Trial of the Chicago 7, Eddie Redmayne said the Fantastic Beasts 3 shutdown has allowed them to use that time in different ways:

The pandemic put countless productions in a tight spot this year, forcing many to roll with the punches and look for a bright side. Fantastic Beasts 3 looks to be no exception to that, as it sounds like director David Yates, Eddie Redmayne, and the rest of the crew tried to adapt the best they could under the circumstances.

Fantastic Beasts 3 only just started filming again under the new safety protocols that have been put in place. Eddie Redmayne said they’re two weeks into the process and that it’s created a new normal on the film set. Yet despite being a different process, he said everyone is still working at the top of their game.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald had the lowest opening in the Harry Potter universe and received overall poor reviews from critics and fans, but Warner Bros. seems to have continued faith in it to bring it back for another sequel. It sounds like the filmmakers want to make Fantastic Beasts 3 bigger and better and reportedly, to make up for the Crimes of Grindelwald’s poor reception, J.K. Rowling has been re-working the Fantastic Beasts 3 script.

Fantastic Beasts 3 is scheduled to hit theaters on November 12, 2021. For more movie news, be sure to stay tuned to CinemaBlend.

Fantastic Beasts fans have endured a bit of a roller coaster ride when it comes to awaiting the third film in the series. After a long delay, it seemed like it was finally coming together -- only for the COVID-19 pandemic to force Warner Bros. to pause production. Now, according to Eddie Redmayne, it appears that Fantastic Beasts 3 has resumed filming, and the cast and crew are adjusting to a new normal on set.

Like many other films, Fantastic Beasts 3 was put on hold in early spring. While we got word earlier this summer that production would resume soon, the official start date wasn’t certain. However, now it appears that they’re back in business. During a recent interview for his upcoming film, The Trial of the Chicago 7, Eddie Redmayne told CinemaBlend’s Sean O’Connell that the cast and crew of Fantastic Beasts 3 are back to work:

Eddie Redmayne didn’t go into great detail surrounding safety protocols on the Fantastic Beasts 3 set, although he seems to confirm that crew members are required to wear masks on set. This news shouldn’t come as a surprise to those who’ve been watching the way Hollywood has adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In July, Warner Bros. executives stressed that the studio would be enforcing strict protocols to keep casts and crews safe as they headed back into production. The Batman had to close up shop shortly after resuming filming after a crew member -- allegedly Robert Pattinson -- tested positive for COVID-19. But if anything, that’s a sign that the studio’s reporting system works.

Hopefully, the Fantastic Beasts 3 crew will be able to complete the film without further delay. There are still a lot of unknowns regarding what fans can expect to see in the latest installment of the franchise, though we do know the characters will be heading to Hogwarts. While cast members like Dan Fogler have hinted at big events on the horizon -- and the potential introduction of other Harry Potter characters into the prequel series -- the filmmakers aren’t revealing all of the film’s secrets yet. Fantastic Beasts 3 is currently scheduled to hit theaters on November 12, 2021.

Are you excited to finally get to see Fantastic Beasts 3? Let us know in the comments!

Eddie Redmayne may seem like he came out of nowhere when he won the 2015 Academy Award for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything, and you may have wondered who is the man behind this Newt fella when he starred in the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them franchise. Redmayne may have seemed like a fresh faced newbie with a lot of luck, but he had been modeling and acting for over 10 years when he became an Oscar winner.

Redmayne has built an impressive resume over the last decade working with big names like Natalie Portman, Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Kristen Stewart, and Sean Bean. He’s appeared in period pieces, modern classics, indie films, and so much more. Redmayne has also been in a slew of big projects like Les Miserables, The Danish Girl, and Jupiter Ascending, but he’s done some of his best work in films that you may have never seen.

Eddie Kreezer - Hick

Hick stars Chloe Grace Moretz, Eddie Redmayne, and Blake Lively. It’s about a young girl named Luli (Chloe Grace Moretz) who has been neglected by her family, so she decided to run away. While on the road, she meets a series of characters, but Eddie (Eddie Redmayne) and Glenda (Blake Lively) play the most significant roles in her runaway story.

Redmayne has to drop his British accent and add a Southern one for this role. Eddie is a character who is dangerous, wounded, crazy, vulnerable, longing to be loved, and twisted. Redmayne gives one of his best performances in this role, easily showcasing all these sides of Eddie, and more, with simple gestures, looks, and delivery of his lines. You can’t help but be drawn to Eddie.

Gordy - The Yellow Handkerchief

Ex-con Brett (William Hurt) hitches a ride with teens Martine (Kristen Stewart) and Gordy (Eddie Redmayne). He’s traveling to see his ex-wife May (Maria Bello). The Yellow Handkerchief puts each of these characters on a journey of self-discovery and romance.

Redmayne’s Gordy is awkward, smart, and a bit naive. It’s apparent why this character might annoy others his age, especially Martine, but also be a bit charming once you get to know him. The Yellow Handkerchief is as much about May and Brett’s past love, as it is about Martine and Gordy’s new love story.

Colin Clark - My Week With Marilyn

Eddie Redmayne stars opposite Michelle Williams in My Week with Marilyn, a movie about filmmaker and writer Colin Clark’s encounters with the legendary Marilyn Monroe. The movie centers on the shooting of the film The Prince and the Showgirl.

Redmayne gives an excellent performance as Colin Clark, a young man who finds himself working on a big Hollywood film and meeting one of the most famous actresses at the time. He is a character who is mesmerized by Marilyn, but also gets to see her vulnerability and struggles to fit in a box set forth for her by Hollywood and men. The story is mainly told from Colin’s perspective so we see Marilyn how he saw her, a force of nature who also happens to be a wounded human.

Jack Jackson - The Pillars Of The Earth

The Pillars of the Earth was the eight-episode TV miniseries adaptation of Ken Follett’s beloved book of the same name.The show follows a string of characters during the 12th century, and the events mainly focus on the drama that comes with the construction of a cathedral in Kingsbridge.

Most of the events surrounding Eddie Redmayne’s Jack involves his forbidden love story with Lady Aliena (Hayley Atwell). As with any good love story about two young people, it involves passion, secret meetings, dance sequences, and so many obstacles thrown their way. Redmayne captures Jack’s drive, purpose, and undying love for Aliena.

Dug - Early Man

Redmayne voices the character Dug in the animated movie Early Man. The film depicts a group of cavemen and cavewomen who have to regain their land by taking on viking-esque invaders in a futbol (aka American soccer) match. Early Man’s voice cast includes Tom Hiddleston, Maisie Williams, Timothy Spall, Rob Brydon, and Richard Ayoade.

Eddie Redmayne slightly distorted his voice to sound a bit younger as the young caveboy Dug. Dug is a hopeful character who really wants to lead his tribe to victory. Redmayne uses his voice acting skills to display the wonder and hopefulness that Dug displays almost throughout the entire film.

James Glaisher - The Aeronauts

In The Aeronauts, Eddie Redmayne portrays real life meteorologist James Glaisher. The film follows Glaisher’s balloon ride journey with pilot Amelia Wren (Felicity Jones). Glaisher seeks to reach the highest aptitude humanly possible in the pursuit of science and knowledge. This action packed drama takes the duo to new heights and new levels of danger.

Much of The Aeronauts action takes place while in the sky, and with only Jones and Redmayne on screen for most of the film, they have to carry the story. Both actors bring you in with them as they’re compelled to continue this quest, even in the face of almost certain death. Eddie Redmayne’s Glaisher embodies a man who so badly wants to go as far as possible, even if it costs him everything. Jones and Redmayne team up once again, and they once again showcase their stellar on-screen chemistry.

Angel Clare - Tess Of The d’Urbervilles

In this adaptation of the Thomas Hardy classic, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Gemma Arterton played the lead role and Eddie Redmayne took on the role of Angel, the object of Tess’s affection. Tess of the d’Urbervilles at its core is a story about society’s obsession with purity when it comes to women, and the damage it can have on lives.

Angel is the worst, but Redmayne gives the character the sweetness needed to see why Tess could fall for him. He also gives the character layers that shows how he plays just as big of a role in the eventual demise of Tess as the other men in her life. His character partly represents the double standards put on women when it comes to sexuality.

William Stafford - The Other Boleyn Girl

The Other Boleyn Girl is a historical fiction story about the marriage of Anne Boleyn (Natalie Portman) and Henry VIII (Eric Bana), and his affair with Anne’s sister Mary Boleyn (Scarlett Johansson).

Eddie Redmayne has a very small, but important role in The Other Boleyn Girl. He plays William Stafford, the eventual husband of Mary Boleyn. He’s her second husband. The character doesn’t come from the same nobility as the Boleyn family, so picking him means Mary would also give her aristocratic lifestyle.

Eddie Redmayne is an actor who just gets better with each new role. He is the type of actor I love to watch, because his passion comes through in every performance. He embodies these characters, brings them to new heights, and takes you on the journey along with him. I truly believe he could play any character.

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The Harry Potter franchise has been entertaining audiences for decades, as the Wizarding World continues to expand through theme parks, a hit Broadway play, and David Yates' Fantastic Beasts franchise. The latter set of films star Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander, and are written by Harry Potter scribe J.K. Rowling. Rowling has recently been the center of controversy regarding offensive binary tweets made about sex and transgender women, with Daniel Radcliffe speaking out against her comments. And now Eddie Redmayne has followed suit, despite his continued role in the Fantastic Beasts movie.

A ton of people are speaking out about J.K. Rowling, including those hardcore fans of the Harry Potter franchise that are disappointed with her seemingly transphobic ideas about gender and sex. Daniel Radcliffe recently spoke out in opposition of her tweets, while working with advocacy group The Trevor Project. Eddie Redmayne has also made an official statement in response to Rowling's comments, saying:

Well, that seems pretty cut and dry. Despite his ongoing working relationship with J.K. Rowling, Eddie Redmayne still used his platform to advocate for transgender rights. Given how many challenges the trans community face on a daily basis, Redmaybe felt the need to respond to J.K. Rowling's comments about sex and transgender women.

Eddie Redmayne's statement to Variety made the actor's feelings on the ongoing controversy clear, as he stands with transgender folks whose identity is so often challenged by cisgender people in power. Redmayne famously received an Oscar nomination for playing a trans woman in The Danish Girl, and now he's seemingly honoring that role and the LGBTQIA+ community by speaking out against J.K. Rowling's comments.

This is the second figure in the Wizarding World to come out against J.K. Rowling's comments and the implication they carry for transgender women in particular. Daniel Radcliffe has worked with The Trevor project throughout his career, and issues his own statement in hopes of validating trans folks out there, as well as Harry Potter fans who feel like their favorite franchise has been tainted. In his words,

As of the time of writing, J.K. Rowling is seemingly sticking to her terms, and not apologizing for any pain she could have caused with her controversial tweets. But as more collaborators continue to come to the transgender community's defense, it should be interesting to see if that changes. Gender and sexuality are a spectrum, and there are plenty of people still fighting for inclusion, visibility, and equality.

Eddie Redmaybe is currently expected to play Newt Scamander in the mysterious Fantastic Beasts 3 movie. Production on the threequel was ultimately delayed due to global health concerns, and it's unclear exactly when production will kick up production. But it'll once again see Eddie Redmayne collaborating with J.K. Rowling, despite their clear disagreement.

Fantastic Beasts 3 is currently set to hit theaters in November of 2021. In the meantime, check out our 2020 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

The first two Fantastic Beasts films gave us a look at young versions of some of the Harry Potter ‘verse’s most memorable characters. Now that Fantastic Beasts 3 is happening, we’re wondering who could show up next. If you ask star Eddie Redmayne, there’s one iconic Harry Potter hero that needs to be included.

In a Reddit AMA, Eddie Redmayne took the time to give thoughtful answers to a wide range of questions. When one user asked which Harry Potter character he’d like to have join the fray in Fantastic Beasts 3, his answer was short, sweet, and very clear:

This isn’t the first time that Eddie Redmayne has expressed a desire to bring Hogwarts’ beloved gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid on board for Fantastic Beasts. And it could happen - Fantastic Beasts 3 is expected to focus more on Hogwarts, the wizarding school Hagrid called home (and where he served as gamekeeper). There is, of course, one small detail that could prevent Eddie Redmayne’s giant-sized dreams from coming true: the timeline.

The first two Fantastic Beasts films take place in the mid-to-late 1920s, and have shown us the rise of Albus Dumbledore’s first true nemesis, Gellert Grindelwald. According to the Harry Potter canon, Rubeus Hagrid was born in 1928, a whole year after the series begins. For his character to feasibly be integrated into a Fantastic Beasts story, at least in a way that’s meaningful, they’d have to jump ahead quite a few years (or, someone would have to get ahold of Dumbledore’s time-turner).

As it is, the use of characters from the Harry Potter series has proven to be controversial for the Fantastic Beasts creative team. Fans were initially excited that Fantastic Beasts 2: The Crimes of Grindelwald might include a storyline that openly explored Dumbledore’s sexuality -- then felt betrayed when the film’s director backtracked. There was also controversy when it was revealed that Voldemort’s beloved snake Nagini was actually once human. And fans were quick to point out a gaping plot hole, too, when a young Minerva McGonegal showed up in Fantastic Beasts 2 in a scene that takes place nearly a decade before she was born.

We would hope that Fantastic Beasts 3 would be a bit more mindful of these kinds of details, since it’s clear fans will be watching. That doesn’t mean a Hagrid cameo is completely off the table, though. And of all the characters from the original Harry Potter series, his inclusion in the Fantastic Beasts story makes sense -- since he loves magical creatures more than any other character -- except maybe Eddie Redmayne’s Newt Scamander. Fantastic Beasts 3 is scheduled to begin production in 2020, and should hit theaters on November 21, 2021.

Newt Scamander actor Eddie Redmayne recently shared a little Fantastic Beasts 3 filming update. The "exciting" note came from him, and I have to say I'm excited to see Warner Bros. is taking its time with this movie, changing course from the initial plan to start filming over summer 2019 to reworking J.K. Rowling's script and now starting in early 2020.

Eddie Redmayne was at the Toronto International Film Festival promoting The Aeronauts when he was asked about Fantastic Beasts 3.

That's not nothing to me! First of all, I'll take "really exciting" any day, even from an actor who is obviously biased because he's the star of the franchise. It's his job to talk up the movie. However, it is a slight surprise -- a pleasant one, maybe? -- to hear Eddie Redmayne tell ET the script is still being worked on.

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has talked about planning for five movies in this Fantastic Beasts franchise, and she's going to write all of them. However, The Crimes of Grindelwald script was a point of criticism for many fans.

In February 2019, now former Warner Bros. exec Kevin Tsujihara admitted the second movie was a disappointment; he said J.K. Rowling was working on the third movie's script to make it better:

Fantastic Beasts 3 was originally set to start filming this past July 2019, but it was delayed several months to late autumn for more prep time, and to work on the script.

Also in February, actor Dan Fogler (Jacob Kowalski) said the filming delay was due to the sheer size of the third movie:

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them opened in November 2016, with Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald opening in November 2018. Fantastic Beasts 3 -- title to come -- was originally eyeing a November 2020 release date to stick with the two-year schedule. But, wisely, The Powers That Be decided to take a step back after the second movie wasn't received as well as the first.

In April 2019, Fantastic Beasts 3 got an official release date of November 12, 2021. At the time, it was noted (via Pottermore) that production was slated to begin in Spring 2020.

So we went from Summer 2019 to Fall 2019 to Spring 2020 for production, or "the beginning of next year," per Eddie Redmayne. To quote the Avengers, whatever it takes.

There's no need to rush a movie until it's ready, and Fantastic Beasts 3 has a big job ahead. Fans have a lot of questions, especially after that massive Dumbledore twist, and J.K.Rowling did promise "answers" are coming. Here's what else we know so far about what's ahead in Fantastic Beasts 3.

At this point it seems like pretty much all of Hollywood has been cast to play either a hero or a villain in a comic book superhero movie. There have been so many films in the last decade or so that it feels like every corner has already been tapped. However, the truth is that there will always be a need for new actors to play Marvel and DC and other superheroes and there will always be actors available to play them. Eddie Redmayne is apparently waiting for the call, because he wants to play the Riddler.

The admission came via an interview with IMDb in which several different actors attending the Toronto International Film Festival were asked what supervillain they would like to play. While not everybody limited their choices to the comic book world, Eddie Redmayne made it clear that there is one classic Batman villain that he wants in on.

It's short, sweet, and to the point, and the way that Eddie Redmayne delivers the statement, it's clear that he's being quite serious, it really looks like this is a role that he'd love to have if the opportunity were there.

It has to be said, Eddie Redmayne wouldn't be a terrible choice to play Edward Nygma. He'd look the part pretty perfectly, if you covered him in question marks. If he can pull off a voice that made him sound significantly out of his mind, then he's basically there.

And, of course, the possibility that we'll need somebody to play the Riddler in the short term is certainly there. There's a new Batman movie set to come out in a couple years that will star Robert Pattinson as The Batman. At this point we have no idea what villain or villains could appear in the film, but Riddler is one of several who has been rumored to potentially appear.

Of course, if the Riddler is going to appear in the new Batman movie and Eddie Redmayne wants the role, he may need to fight for it. Sabastian Stan has also expressed an interest in playing the part, and James McAvoy has also mentioned that he might be up for playing the part as well.

Sebastian Stan would likely be something of a departure from the version of Riddler we tend to see, though that isn't inherently a bad thing. Eddie Redmayne has a bit of a more traditional look for the character, he looks like a nerd is what I'm saying, and would probably be perfect if a classic Riddler was where the movie wanted to go.

Check out Eddie Redmayne's comments in the video below.

Even if we don't get Riddler in Matt Reeves upcoming Batman movie, it seems likely that sequels to the new film are are in the cards, and so the Riddler will probably be back on the big screen sooner rather than later and Eddie Redmayne might very well have his chance.

Moviegoers may have to wait longer than expected for Fantastic Beasts 3, but those who are hungry for Harry Potter content are in luck. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is available digitally and it's packed with 14 minutes of deleted scenes. One of these scenes includes an extended conversation between Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) and Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) in which the latter dishes on some important history between himself and Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp).

As Harry Potter fans are well aware, Dumbledore and Grindelwald have quite a bit of history. The two of them were close friends as young men who both shared the desire to become unbeatable wizards. Things eventually went sour between the two because Grindelwald is a lunatic and Dumbledore mostly isn't. Their falling out led to a three-way duel between the two men and Dumbledore's brother, which sadly ended in the death of Dumbledore's sister.

The full details of their relationship and what went wrong have never been fully disclosed, but it won't likely stay that way for long as Fantastic Beasts gets closer to its conclusion. Case in point, a deleted scene from The Crimes of Grindelwald finds Dumbledore opening up a bit about about his history with Grindelwald and providing some exposition.

Unfortunately, we can't show off a clip, but Hypable has a description of the scene in question. The deleted scene is from early in the film during Newt and Dumbledore's first conversation in London. Dumbledore is explaining why he sent Newt to New York City during the first movie and it was all about Credence (Ezra Miller). As it turns out, Dumbledore knew that Grindelwald would still be looking for Credence because the dark wizard had a vision that an Obscurial would kill the man he fears most.

Dumbledore had hoped that Newt would be able to save Credence, thus preventing Grindelwald's vision. In classic Dumbledore fashion, he didn't explain any of this to Newt beforehand, but better late than never, I guess.

The conflict between Dumbledore and Grindelwald will likely take center stage sooner rather than later. The two of them them have a war-ending duel coming up and the films are likely building to that moment. Hopefully by that point, the history between the two men will finally be revealed in full.

Fantastic Beasts 3 is currently scheduled to arrive in theaters on November 20, 2020 (but that will probably be moved since production was pushed back on the "gigantic" film). Until then, stay up to date on all the movies heading to theaters this year with our 2019 movie guide.

It seems that thanks to the success of CGI digital effects there is absolutely nothing that can't be created for a movie screen. However, what we see on film is quite different from what the actors are dealing with while making the movie. In a new exclusive clip that is part of the new Digital and Blu-ray release of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, star Eddie Redmayne talks about what it's like working opposite things that aren't really there, and just how insane, and tiring, the experience truly is. Check it out.

We've often heard the stories coming from actors who work on movies with heavy CGI about the experience of working opposite a character they can't see, that's maybe nothing more than a tennis ball on a stick. Eddie Redmayne explains that for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, while there certainly was some of that, the fantastic beasts were actually created using a variety of different methods. According to Redmayne...

While acting against nothing certainly requires a lot of imagination from the actors, acting against a puppet or a green screen stand-in requires a different sort of imagination. The end result is that at the end of each day Eddie Redmayne was mentally worn out as he's had to stretch himself to his limits performing against such a variety of different "creatures."

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, while it wasn't nearly as focused on the fantastic beasts as the previous film, still had its share of amazing creatures. Some of the first film's favorites came back along with several new animals. It seems that each one was created using whatever method best suited it, which resulted in the actors having to shift between acting like nothing was something or acting like a puppet was real.

And it's completely understandable that this can be exhausting. In the case of something like acting like a creature is sitting on your hand when there's nothing really there, the actor has some degree of freedom. The digital effects artists simply need to draw in the creature to match what the actor does.

However, in the case of working with green screen stand-ins, that freedom becomes more limited. The creature now must exist in a particular space, so you have to treat those ridiculous looking people in green pajamas in just the right way so that the creature can be created around them.

While this clip was made available exclusively to CinemaBlend, everybody else can watch the entire look at Newt Scamander's magical creatures when Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald is released on Blu-ray March 12. For those who can't wait, the film is available in Digital HD starting today and includes an extended cut with additional footage not part of the theatrical release.

SPOILER ALERT: This article contains spoilers for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Read at your own risk!

There are plenty of reasons for why any particular scene needs to be cut, and even those written by J.K. Rowling are not immune. A few different scenes were taken out of the final cut of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, and while we will likely have to wait for the Blu-ray to watch those scenes, Eddie Redmayne gave us some clues by sharing which ones he was the saddest to see go.

In an interview with Collider, Eddie Redmayne detailed a few of the scenes that he liked the most that were cut from the film. The top one he named was one that happens early on in the film and would have been between his character Newt Scamander and his brother Theseus. The scene took place at a bar for wizards after Newt rejected the Ministry of Magic's offer to become an Auror in exchange for the ability to travel internationally.

It sounds like the scene would have fleshed out the sibling relationship between Newt and Theseus (which was needed badly, in my opinion), but it ended up not making the final cut. We will simply have to cross out fingers for a drunk Pickett in a future movie.

That wasn't the only deleted scene that Eddie Redmayne liked. He was pretty fond of the extension of a scene that came toward the end of the film in which Leta Lestrange (Zoe Kravitz) revealed what happened to her brother Corvus.

After Leta spills her guts about her baby brother Corvus, the scene moves on to a rally being held by Gellert Grindelwald, but originally we would have seen Leta break down after sharing her story. Even if it was a good bit of acting on Zoe Kravitz's part, it's understandable why the movie felt it needed to keep the momentum moving into the climax.

Something tells me there were quite a few things cut from Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, but you can see what did make the final cut by catching the film in theaters.

Spoiler Warning: This is all about the ending of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. You have been warned!

The ending of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald has got people talking. Whether it's from those who were genuinely surprised by the twists, or those who were frustrated by it, the final moments of the film have been a big point of conversation. Eddie Redmayne, who stars in the movie as Newt Scamander, falls into the camp of people who were shocked by the conclusion, as the actor recounts when he first read it in the script.

And here come the spoilers! The Crimes of Grindelwald makes a big deal out of learning Credence Barebone's true lineage. The powerful Obscurial wants to know who his family is, and joins forces with Grindelwald because he claims to know the truth. At the end of the movie, Grindelwald reveals to Credence that his real name is Aurelius Dumbledore, and it's heavily implied that he is Albus Dumbledore's brother.

Now, this raises a whole bunch of questions and complications that Harry Potter fans have raised over how this conflicts with the established lore. Grindelwald could be lying, but at the moment, we have to take it at face value. Credence is a Dumbledore, and he's on a collision course with Albus.

Despite the issues that this raises, it's still a surprising development, and Eddie Redmayne couldn't believe it when he first read the script. Redmayne told Collider that it's one of those twists that add to the story when you watch it over again. Redmayne is excited to find out what happens next, and it'll be interesting to see where this new twist takes the story.

Some fans aren't quite as enthusiastic as Redmayne is about the ending. I would argue that the movie doesn't put in the work to make this reveal as exciting or shocking as it thinks it is. Credence, the character the whole plot revolves around, isn't in the movie much-- and he doesn't have a ton to do when on screen.

One could argue that these Fantastic Beasts movies will play better when watched as a whole, but we won't know that until the other three release. At the moment, you can catch Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald in theaters now.

David Yates' Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald begins a full year after the events of the first movie, and it's clear that things have changed in important ways for the main characters. It was a period that saw blossoming celebrity, new and deepening relationships, and more, and it's material that the lead actors had to understand in pre-production. And while some of it is and isn't canon, I got to talk with the cast all about it and the sequel's recent press day:

The domestic press day for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald was held earlier this month in Los Angeles, and while sitting down with Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Ezra Miller, Claudia Kim, Callum Turner, Dan Fogler, and Alison Sudol in paired group interviews I asked them all the same basic question: what's been going on with these characters since the last frame of Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them? Each of them gave me some great background, some of it involving material that nearly made its way into the theatrical cut.

Eddie Redmayne's Newt Scamander, for example, has seen his life change significantly. Not only has he written and published the book he was discussing in the first movie, but it has becoming a hit in the wizarding community and earned him some extreme popularity. And while things have been a bit quiet in the romance department, he does have a new relationship with his assistant, Bunty (Victoria Yeates) to whom we are introduced in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald.

Of course, if you remember the end of Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them you probably already guessed that none of this makes Katherine Waterston's Tina Goldstein very happy. Newt promised that he would return once he wrote his book, but it was a promise that was broken. Things are only made worse when a newspaper erroneously reports that Newt is engaged to his old flame, Leta Lestrange (Zoe Kravitz), which eventually leads her to start dating again (though from Waterston's description of a deleted scene, it doesn't sound like her new relationship was going to be established as being in the greatest place).

For Ezra Miller and Claudia Kim, who play Credence Barebone and Nagini, a lot of their pre-production work involved getting close to one another and creating their own shared backstory -- which helped given that Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald doesn't tell us how the characters originally met. They had conversations with J.K. Rowling about the relationship (apparently Claudia Kim's first chat happened in the bathroom), but also made up their own ideas that they used for themselves.

When it came to Jacob and Queenie, played by Dan Fogler and Alison Sudol, the narrative was essentially the material of a romantic comedy. The two characters became all-but star-crossed lovers in the first movie, given the illegality of wizard/witch-muggle/no-maj relationships, and it seemed for a minute their story was over when Jacob's memory was erased. However, the final frame of the original Fantastic Beasts suggested a reignited spark in the man's mind, and Fogler and Sudol took it from there. Together they imagined a whirlwind romance, involving passion, high risk, and magical trips to Europe.

Compared to the rest of the actors I interviewed, Calum Turner had a bit of a different job playing Theseus Scamander, who is Newt's brother and makes his debut in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald. Rather than just filling in the events of a year, he had to establish the entire backstory of his character and the key relationships in his life. Fortunately there was plenty of material available for him to do research with, and the opportunities to talk about who Theseus is with David Yates and J.K. Rowling.

These are all puzzle pieces being put together within the Wizarding World, and audiences will be able to experience the latest chapter this weekend. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald, which also stars Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Carmen Ejogo and William Nadylam, arrives in theaters Friday, November 16th -- and be sure to stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for a whole lot more of our coverage in the coming days and weeks.