6 Things We're Dying to See in the 'Fantastic Beasts' Sequels

1. Dan Fogler.

Dan Fogler’s Jacob Kowalski was the No-Maj that stole fan’s hearts in the movie. Watching the magical world reveal itself through his eyes took many fans back to the wonder of experiencing Harry Potter for the first time. Hilarious, kind, and ultimately self-sacrificing, fans are waiting on bated breath to see how his forbidden romance with Queenie will turn out.

2. More of the habitats contained inside the suitcase.

There could literally be five movies set inside the suitcase and it would still be as fascinating as the wizarding politics of the post-WWI era. Like the London Studio Tour, I left the theater wishing I had more time to explore it all.

3. More of the world outside the suitcase.

Unfortunately, the joy of watching the fantastic beasts in their fabricated habitats was the only major world-building fans got to see, despite the introduction to MACUSA and wizarding New York in the 1920s. The tensions between the Muggle and the wizarding world were never quite spelled out in way that seemed to actually threaten wizard life; they were simply summed up in one terrifying orphanage director, who despite being horrific to her children, had no real power to affect change. Bigger threats are needed if Grindelwald’s fanaticism in the later movies is to be believed.

4. A less shy Newt Scamander.

The best Newt scene is by far the mating dance to lure the erumpent that got loose in Central Park back into the suitcase. Newt really went for it, but unfortunately the hilarity and warmth of that scene is rarely extended to other people, wizard or muggle. The sequels are ripe for building off of the tentative friendships in this film, and really, audiences won’t know who Newt is and be able to connect with him until he’s thrown in contrast with people instead of animals.

5. Leta Lestrange (Zoe Kravitz) and the history of dark magic.

One of the few hints we did get about Newt as a character involved a fraught relationship with Leta Lestrange, relative of the infamous Bellatrix. We’ve been promised Zoe Kravitz for the sequel, and hopefully she’s used not only to flesh out who Newt (beyond a shy Eddie Redmayne in good costuming) is, but also to show fans how dark magic evolved and how it destroyed centuries-old wizarding families in Europe.

6. Dumbledore’s backstory.

While it’s too late to do anything about Johnny Depp’s casting as Grindelwald — which people are protesting because of his alleged history of domestic abuse — it’s not too late for J.K. Rowling to create the young, queer Dumbledore fans have been clamoring for since 2007. Rowling had revealed at a Deathly Hallows signing that, “Dumbledore fell in love with Grindelwald, and that added to his horror when Grindelwald showed himself to be what he was.” Actively representing this queer love story on screen would go a long way to easing — but not quite fixing — the multiple backlashes over cultural appropriation and whitewashing that the production of Fantastic Beasts labored under.