Yesterday, we learned that DC had put the brakes on their solo Flash movie, with its release date now scheduled for sometime in 2021 (if it happens at all). Their reasoning for this is simple scheduling conflicts. Prior to the pic’s many delays, star Ezra Miller would have been able to film both Fantastic Beasts 3 and the superhero movie, but now it transpires that he only has time for one. And, in this instance at least, the latter lost out.
Consequentially, we now know for sure that Ezra Miller’s Credence Barebone is going to continue to play a pivotal role for two more installments in the franchise (though whether he’ll survive through all five that are planned is anyone’s guess). This gives Barebone some pretty solid plot armor in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Given that many had thought he’d died in the finale of Where To Find Them while in his Obscurus form, it might suggest he’s begun to control his powers a little better.
That tallies up with what we know about the film’s plot, too. J.K. Rowling has already explained that Credence is the driving force behind the sequel’s story, saying: “The reason everyone goes to Paris, really, is Credence.” Apparently, we’re going to see him still coming to terms with his deeply repressed powers, which may draw him to a magical circus where he meets and befriends the Maledictus Nagini. Throughout all this, he’s being pursued by Johnny Depp’s Grindelwald and Jude Law’s Dumbledore, each eager to turn him to their cause.
But what are Credence’s long-term prospects? Well, he’s not mentioned at all in the Harry Potter books (and yes, I know the real reason is that they were written a long time before Fantastic Beasts), so this could mean that his wizardly career may be a case of burn out rather than fade away. Regardless, we’ll have a much better idea of what’s going to happen when Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald apparates into cinemas on November 16th.