Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore lets a zombified franchise lurch forward

polygon.com:

When does a studio decide to stop making sequels? The objectively correct answer is “When the franchise stops making money.” The confused, misshapen Harry Potter universe sequel Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore tests that conventional wisdom. Warner Bros. had every reason to abandon this series two films in, while they were $600 million dollars ahead. Among the roadblocks they faced in getting this third film made: a divisive marquee star Warner Bros. compelled to step down due to allegations of domestic abuse, a supporting player with a track record of physical assault and distressing headlines, and a a creator/screenwriter burning through her public goodwill quickly and intently enough to suggest a self-abasement fetish. And for bonuses: an unwieldy ongoing narrative that’s openly lost interest in its original premise, and a pandemic delaying production nearly a full year.

But so long as cash is green and galleons are gold, the series shall lurch onward. The third installment continues to expand the wizarding world’s geography and history, getting hopelessly lost along the way. The Fantastic Beasts spinoffs began as wonderstruck adventures acquainting mild-mannered naturalist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) with a menagerie of CGI critters. He’s now been remanded to the margins of his own franchise (and its poster). His presence has been reduced to a handful of whimsical interludes that feel severely out of place in what’s otherwise a morose political thriller. An evident attempt to right the ship has turned into a calamitous case of mission drift, as a property with no identity travels in nonsensical circles, looking for a sustainable new direction.

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