For those of you that thought the Harry Potter films had come to end, it appears Warner Brothers has found a way to milk a few more dollars out of one of their favorite cash cows.  They will be producing a trilogy of “megamovies” based on the Harry Potter companion book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.  The script for the first film will be written by none other than J.K. Rowling herself.  Warner Brothers has already announced their intention to adapt the film months ago, but their plans to make the Harry Potter spinoff into a trilogy is a rather surprising development.

For those of you unfamiliar with Fantastic Beasts, it was written by Rowling back in 2001 while she was also busy writing Order of the Phoenix.  It basically serves as a sort of mini-encyclopedia for the creatures in the Harry Potter universe including many that have never even been mentioned in the book series.

Let me make one thing perfectly clear before I give my two cents about this story: I love the Harry Potter books and the movies.  That being said, I’m not sure this is a good idea.  Fantastic Beasts isn’t a terrible book but there’s really no story in it and to me it comes off as more of a desperate cash grab from Warner Bros. than anything else (though considering the franchise has made over $7.7 billion worldwide, I suppose that’s understandable).

If Warner Bros. absolutely has to try to make a Harry Potter spinoff, it would make more sense to adapt The Tales of Beedle the Bard.  For starters, at least Beedle the Bard has some actual stories in it.  The stories themselves also have a nice Brothers Grimm feel to them and it might actually make for a decent anthology film.

Is adapting Fantastic Beasts a good move for Warner Brothers?  Give us your thoughts about the Harry Potter spinoff in the comment section below.

Source: Slashfilm