Fantastic Treats And Where To Find Them: 'Fantastic Beasts 2' Adds Cast And Synopsis As Filming Begins

Are you ready to have a spell cast over your plain, old muggle lives once more? Well, after the blockbuster success of last year's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, David Yates is back and moving forward with the spellbinding sequel of sorcery. With more animals and alchemy, #FantasticBeasts2 has officially begun filming and will once again see #EddieRedmayne take on the role of the bumbling Newt Scamander. However, who else will be whipping out their wands for the sequel in 2018?

Magic Moments

Taking us on more than a tour of 2016's NYC-centric film, Fantastic Beasts 2 will stop our broomsticks in locations like London and Paris as we chart a new chapter in the pre-Potter saga. According to Warner Bros., there is a whole host of talent to take the sequel into darker territory, away from the Nifflers and Thunderbirds of the first film. Newcomers include War & Peace's Callum Turner as Theseus Scamander, Newt's older brother, who is an "Auror and war hero," and Avengers: Age of Ultron's Claudia Kim as a mysterious woman we meet at a wizarding circus. William Nadylam has been cast as a wizard named Yusuf Kama, Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson will be a bounty hunter called Grimmson, and Ólafur Darri Ólafsson will play ringmaster Skender.

Favorite characters like Tina (Katherine Waterston), Queenie (Alison Sudol), and Jacob (Dan Fogler) will all be back, as will Kevin Guthrie as Abernathy, Tina and Queenie’s MACUSA boss. In addition to the return of big stars like Redmayne, there'll be a boost in Hollywood stardom as #JudeLaw steps into the robes of a young Albus Dumbledore. The character was famously played by Richard Harris and Michael Gambon in the original eight films, but the ongoing Beasts series will follow Albus in his formative years.

In addition to Law, and after a brief appearance at the end of the original film, #JohnnyDepp will once again be getting out the peroxide to play the villainous Grindelwald. Given the complex relationship between Dumbledore and Grindelwald — as well as their romantic entanglement — fans of the Potterverse can't wait to see the duo's story play out in the future films. Author #JKRowling only briefly hinted at their relationship in her final Potter book, but since she's also handling writing duties on Fantastic Beasts 2, expect her to delve a little deeper for the silver screen.

Dark Times Ahead

Interestingly, the film also promises the return of #EzraMiller, whose fate seemed sealed in the conclusion of the first film. We saw Miller's Credence Barebone succumb to his power as an Obscurus and presumably perish. It is doubtful that they would bring Miller on just for some flashbacks, so expect Credence to have survived his grim goodbye. In addition, #ZoëKravitz will finally get her time to shine as Leta Lestrange, as she's expected to have a huge part this time round. Newt clearly had some entanglement with Lestrange, who fans of the Potter books will know shares a name with a very dark wizarding family indeed. Although Kravitz appeared just in a picture in the first film, we will get to meet Leta in the flesh in the sequel.

In addition to an impressive cast, we also got a spoilerific synopsis that highlights where we will be going next:

"J.K. Rowling wrote the screenplay for the film, which opens in 1927, a few months after Newt helped to unveil and capture the infamous Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald. However, as he promised he would, Grindelwald has made a dramatic escape and has been gathering more followers to his cause—elevating wizards above all non-magical beings.""The only one who might be able to stop him is the wizard he once called his dearest friend, Albus Dumbledore. But Dumbledore will need help from the wizard who had thwarted Grindelwald once before, his former student Newt Scamander. The adventure reunites Newt with Tina, Queenie and Jacob, but his mission will also test their loyalties as they face new perils in an increasingly dangerous and divided wizarding world. The film expands the wizarding world, moving from New York to London and on to Paris. There are also some surprising nods to the Harry Potter stories that will delight fans of the books and film series."

With five films planned, and the finale rumored to be Dumbledore and Grindelwald's infamous duel in 1945, expect the likes of Law, Depp, and Redmayne to be in this for the long haul. With the Harry Potter franchise ranking as the second highest grossing film series of all time, and Fantastic Beasts pulling in an impressive $814 at the box office, here's hoping that our bewitching world of wizardry can continue to take its gold all the way to Gringotts for many years to come!