The Harry Potter the films were all based on the novel series of the same name by JK Rowling, but which books are the fantastic beasts films adapted from? Since the publication of the first part in 1997, the Harry Potter The novels have become a global phenomenon and are currently the best-selling book series of all time. The success of the films is not to be despised either, with the final film in the original Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 grossing over $1 billion. As such, Harry Potter the fallout was inevitable, and the first fallout, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Themwas released in 2016, five years after the final Harry Potter film.
Although the popularity of the franchise still eclipses most films, the box office numbers of Fantastic Beasts 3 indicate that interest may decline slightly. Consequently, another fantastic beasts the sequel is not yet lit green and seems more unlikely than ever. But is there more fantastic beasts books that the film has to adapt? The Harry Potter series consisted of eight films adapted from seven books, but what about fantastic beasts?
There is actually only one fantastic beasts book, simply named Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by JK Rowling (although the cover often also says “By Newt Scamander”). First published in 2001, it is a companion book to the main series and the real-world physical manifestation of a copy of Harry’s handbook of the same name, which is first mentioned in the first Harry Potter novel. It is a didactic book on magizoology (the study of magical creatures) and contains information on over 85 magical species. Some of these beasts have been seen in the Harry Potter films, such as the Hungarian Dragon Horntail, and others are seen in the fantastic beasts movies, like the Niffler that Newt Scamander owns and calls Teddy.
Since fantastic beasts book is not a novel, the events of all fantastic beasts the films are simply inspired by the contents of the book. The manual’s author, Newt Scamander, is the protagonist of the films. While Newt is a magizoologist in the films, his involvement in the Wizarding World War between Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald is not mentioned or alluded to in the book. The Story of the Wizarding War Fantastic Beasts 3 indicates how much the movies stand out from the source material. The first entry in the spin-off series focused more on the fantastic beasts in Newt’s book. Since then the fantastic beasts the films raised the stakes from the original and included more ties to the main series, meaning the fantastic beasts the movies now have very little in common with the book. This digression from the source material may explain why critics of the fantastic beasts movies have shrunk. As witnessed game of throneswithout the source material to adapt, writing stories in magical and complex cinematic worlds is no easy task.
As stated earlier, there is no longer fantastic beasts books to adapt, and it looks like the film series might be over. If more movies were to come out of the Wizarding World, they could be adapted from the other supplemental books in the franchise. Among them are The Tales of Beedle the Bardthe storybook from which the myth of the Three Brothers in the Deathly Hallows arises, and Quidditch through the ageswho (next to the fantastic beasts book) has raised around $21 million through sales for UK charities. Most recently published works include Harry Potter and the Cursed Childand three e-books titled Hogwarts short stories about power, politics and pesky poltergeists; Little Hogwarts Stories of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Pastimes; and Hogwarts: an incomplete and unreliable guide.
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