the first instalment. Later that same month it was also announced that Albus Dumbledore would be appearing in future instalments, albeit with a younger actor for the prequel film series. In April 2017, it was confirmed that Jude Law had been cast as Dumbledore. The film takes place in New York City, Britain, and Paris. Principal photography began on 3 July 2017, at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden, and wrapped on 20 December 2017. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald was released on 16 November 2018. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022) Several years after the events of The Crimes of Grindelwald, the story begins in the UK, the US and China and proceeds to take place partly in Berlin, Germany and partly in Bhutan, Asia and leads up to the Wizarding World's involvement in World War II. The third instalment in the franchise shows protagonist Newt Scamander and company returning for another adventurous journey through the wizarding world, attempting to defeat the maniacal Gellert Grindelwald despite Albus Dumbledore unable to fight against him. Originally scheduled to begin filming in July 2019, and released in November 2020, production was pushed back to late 2019 to allow more time polishing the script and plan the future of the series. In 2018 on Twitter, J. K. Rowling promised that the third film would give answers to the questions left unsolved in the first two. In October 2019, Dan Fogler claimed that principal photography on the third film would begin in February 2020. In November 2019, it was announced that the script had been written by both J. K. Rowling and Steve Kloves, the latter of whom returned after being absent as a writer on the first two. On 16 March 2020, the very day that principal photography would begin, the COVID-19 pandemic prompted Warner Bros. to postpone production of its third Fantastic Beasts film. This made the film to be postponed again, from a 12 November 2021 to a 15 July 2022 release. On 20 August 2020, filming was confirmed to start in September. On 20 September 2020, Eddie Redmayne confirmed that filming was two weeks underway with safety precautions in place to keep the cast and crew safe from COVID-19. Johnny Depp announced on 6 November 2020 that he left the film at the request of Warner Bros. Studios. This was the result of Depp losing a libel lawsuit in the