50 Fun Facts About Fantastic Beasts

Who plays Newt Scamander?

Rowling wanted a subtle, understated British hero, and British critics warmed to him more than American ones did.

In what year does the first Fantastic Beasts film take place?

Newt arrives in New York the year before Grindelwald's escape kicks off the sequel in 1927.

For which charity was the original Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them book written in 2001?

It was published under the pen name Newt Scamander as a real copy of Harry's Care of Magical Creatures textbook.

The first film marked whose debut as a screenwriter?

Steve Kloves, who adapted the Potter books, only joined as co-writer on the third film.

What is the American wizarding word for a non-magical person?

American law also forbids witches and wizards from any social relationship with them, which complicates Queenie and Jacob.

Which creature escapes Newt's suitcase in the bank and starts all the trouble?

Chasing it, Newt bumps into Jacob Kowalski and the two swap suitcases.

What is Jacob Kowalski's dream job?

Newt secretly gives him silver Occamy eggshells so he can open his bakery, where the pastries look like magical beasts.

What does the acronym MACUSA stand for?

Tina Goldstein is a demoted Auror there when she arrests Newt.

What is Tina's full first name?

Katherine Waterston plays her; she was demoted for trying to protect Credence from Mary Lou Barebone.

What magical ability does Queenie Goldstein have?

Alison Sudol plays the mind-reading younger sister who falls for Jacob.

What is an Obscurial?

Those afflicted rarely live past ten; Credence survives to adulthood only because his magic is so strong.

What is the name of the anti-witch group led by Mary Lou Barebone?

Its followers are nicknamed Second-Salemers; Samantha Morton plays Mary Lou.

Which actor plays Percival Graves, the MACUSA official who turns out to be Grindelwald in disguise?

Johnny Depp appears only briefly as the real Grindelwald once the disguise is stripped away.

Who plays Seraphina Picquery, the President of MACUSA?

Gemma Chan plays the Chinese ambassador Madam Ya Zhou.

What is the name of the goblin gangster, voiced by Ron Perlman, who runs the speakeasy the Blind Pig?

His tip helps the four recapture the last two escaped creatures.

How is New York's memory of the magical chaos wiped at the end of the first film?

Wizards are immune to the extract and repair the damage while the city forgets.

Which Academy Award did the first film win, the first Oscar for any Wizarding World movie?

Colleen Atwood's 1920s wardrobe took the prize at the 89th Academy Awards.

How much did the first Fantastic Beasts film gross worldwide?

It cost $175 million to make plus $150 million in marketing, and was the eighth-biggest film of 2016.

Which English city stood in for 1920s New York during filming?

The Cunard Building and St George's Hall were dressed for the period after two months at Leavesden studios.

How many films was the series announced to run to in October 2016?

Only three were made; The Secrets of Dumbledore is billed as the third and final instalment.

Which Hogwarts house was Newt Scamander sorted into?

He was later expelled after taking the blame for a Jarvey experiment by his Slytherin friend Leta Lestrange.

During the First World War, Newt worked on a secret Ministry programme involving what?

He served on the Eastern Front; his mother had bred hippogriffs when he was a boy.

In what year was Newt Scamander born?

That makes him 29 when he lands in New York.

In which city is most of The Crimes of Grindelwald set?

Filming took place at Leavesden, in London, Switzerland and Paris itself, and the film premiered in Paris.

Who plays the young Albus Dumbledore in the second and third films?

He is a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts in this era; Richard Coyle plays his brother Aberforth.

Who plays Newt's brother Theseus, an Auror engaged to Leta Lestrange?

Newt is asked to help Theseus find Credence in exchange for having his travel ban lifted.

Which future Voldemort companion appears in The Crimes of Grindelwald as a cursed circus performer?

Claudia Kim plays the woman doomed to become a snake permanently; she escapes the Circus Arcanus with Credence.

What kind of vow has Yusuf Kama made regarding Corvus Lestrange V?

He is avenging his mother, kidnapped by Corvus Lestrange IV with the Imperius Curse.

How did Leta Lestrange unintentionally cause the death of her half-brother Corvus?

Unable to bear his crying, she switched him with Credence; the boy she swapped drowned.

What does Newt's light-fingered creature steal from Grindelwald that Newt gives Dumbledore in the second film?

The pact stops the two men from duelling each other; Dumbledore believes it can be destroyed.

What name does Grindelwald tell Credence is his true identity at the end of The Crimes of Grindelwald?

He hands him a wand and a phoenix at Nurmengard Castle to seal the claim.

Which immortal alchemist helps put out Grindelwald's blue fire in Paris?

He is the same Flamel whose Philosopher's Stone Harry protects decades later.

Which actor replaced Johnny Depp as Grindelwald for The Secrets of Dumbledore?

Depp had shot one scene before being asked to step down in November 2020 after losing his libel case against The Sun.

Which creature that senses purity of heart chooses the head of the International Confederation of Wizards?

Newt helps one give birth to twins in Kweilin; Grindelwald kills one and reanimates it to rig the vote.

In which country is the wizarding election held at the climax of The Secrets of Dumbledore?

The team carry identical suitcases there so Grindelwald cannot tell which holds the surviving qilin.

Which candidate ends up elected head of the ICW after the qilin bows to her?

Vogel, the outgoing head, had acquitted Grindelwald of all charges in Berlin so he could run.

Who is Credence finally revealed to be in the third film?

That makes him Albus's nephew rather than his brother, as Grindelwald had claimed.

Which school does Lally Hicks, played by Jessica Williams, teach Charms at?

She recruits Jacob in New York and later escapes Berlin using a book as a portkey.

What is the name of the German wizarding prison where Theseus is held in Berlin?

Newt has to mimic the scuttling of manticore hatchlings to get him out.

How does The Secrets of Dumbledore end for Jacob and Queenie?

The film grossed just over $407 million, the lowest of any Wizarding World movie.

Who directed all three Fantastic Beasts films?

Rumours that Cuarón would direct were refuted by the man himself in May 2014, three months before Yates was announced.

Who composed the score for the first Fantastic Beasts film?

His main theme weaves in John Williams' Harry Potter motifs such as 'Hedwig's Theme', and the soundtrack dropped the same day the film opened.

Who was in talks to play Jacob before leaving to voice Robin in The Lego Batman Movie?

Cera said in 2025 that he turned the part down partly out of a fear of becoming too famous; Dan Fogler took the role instead.

In which Chinese city does Newt deliver a magical creature's twins at the start of the third film?

Credence apparates in moments later, kills the mother and steals one newborn, while Newt escapes with the second.

What bursts out of the decoy suitcases seized by Grindelwald's followers in the third film?

The team carried identical cases so nobody could tell which one held the surviving creature that would decide the election.

Which everyday object does Newt give Theseus that later works as a portkey to Hogwarts?

Jacob gets a fake wand and Lally gets a book in the same hand-out, each item part of Dumbledore's plan to confuse Grindelwald's seers.

Roughly how much did The Crimes of Grindelwald gross worldwide, on a $200M budget?

It was the tenth highest-grossing film of 2018 yet still the franchise's lowest earner until its own sequel took that title in 2022.

Who acquits Grindelwald of all charges in Berlin, allowing him to run for head of the ICW?

Vogel is the outgoing Supreme Head of the International Confederation of Wizards, and the election becomes a three-way race.

What does Newt secretly give Jacob as capital to open his own business at the end of the first film?

Jacob's shop thrives selling pastries shaped like Newt's creatures, and Queenie walks in on the final scene.

Which actress plays Mary Lou Barebone, leader of the Second-Salemers?

Her youngest adopted daughter Modesty was played by Faith Wood-Blagrove, chosen from thousands of children at an open casting call.