By Contributing Writer, Haroon Shareef

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a fresh and visually glorious prequel to the Harry Potter saga. The film brought magic to New York in an outlandish style. Although the film was not as good as most of the Harry Potter films, I found it pretty enjoyable and gorgeous to look at. It succeeded in being something new and setting up interesting characters for the sequels just like The Force Awakens did for Disney’s Star Wars reboot.

The sequel, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is almost here and I am very excited for it. Warner Bros. has been ambitious with this franchise, deciding that the Fantastic Beasts series will be a 5-parter directed by David Yates, with the final movie expected to end with the historic battle between Dumbledore and Grindelwald that’s been mentioned a few times in the Harry Potter books. It’s well-known throughout the wizarding world as being the most dangerous and longest fight between two wizards ever, and it’s something every Harry Potter fan would love to see.

Nowadays, Warner Bros. has faced many controversies when it comes to their films, and it continues with the casting of Johnny Depp as Grindelwald, but I’m here to remind you that the rest of the amazing cast and crew deserves our love and support to this saga. If you haven’t yet, check out the final trailer of the movie that was released last week.

So dear Potterheads, let’s start with my 5 fantastic reasons on why we all should be pumped for Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald.

#5 Return of the Quartet

In the first film, Newt, Jacob, Porpentina, and Queenie Goldstein filled our hearts with magic. They stole the show as our new set of heroes in the magical world—the weird heroic character Newt, the sweet witch Queenie, the muggle Jacob that gets caught up in everything and falls for her, and the serious ministry worker Porpentina. It will be exciting to see where they are now after the events of the first movie that ended so bittersweetly.

#4 Fantastic Beasts

The beasts themselves are one of the reasons why you should be pumped for this film. The first film had some glorious creatures, especially when we went deep inside Newt’s suitcase, and from what we’ve seen from all the trailers, it looks like this film will top the amount of glorious and absolutely fantastic beasts. And most importantly, the one and only Nagini is in the film and it’s time to start reading some fan-theories!

#3 The Darker Story

“The most riveting aspect is the tonal change,” Redmayne tells EW.“It’s darker and more rigorous and weaving in the Potter lore we’re much more familiar with. So these characters you met in the first film are now in the wizarding world you understand more thoroughly. When I read [the script] it had these cryptic elements to it and it played like a thriller that made it a page-turner.”

Just hearing that from Eddie Redmayne, who plays Newt, makes me happy. Now that these characters have been introduced excellently in the first film, it’s the duty of the sequel to give them more depth, challenge them and give a darker sequel.

#2 Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

The magical world of Harry Potter means so much to all of us and Hogwarts was a big part of it. We all wished to have studied in a school like Hogwarts and it’s back. We also saw a glimpse of Quidditch in the final trailer and that is a big enough reason for you to head to the theaters for Crimes of Grindelwald.

#1 Jude Law’s Young Dumbledore

It was Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore that stole the show in the Harry Potter books and movies. He was the favorite of many and we will get to see a young Dumbledore in this. I couldn’t be more happy with the casting of Jude Law as the young and gorgeous Dumbledore. A dialogue in the first Fantastic Beasts film mentioning Dumbledore gave me goosebumps (“Now, what makes Albus Dumbledore so fond of you?”), so imagine what a proper role for him could do to me. We will witness the beginnings of Dumbledore’s and Grindelwald’s relationship through flashbacks and they will be highlighted in the next films. [‘I cannot move against Grindelwald’]. Jude Law and J.K Rowling’s writing will for sure win our hearts with Crimes of Grindelwald.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is directed by David Yates, from a screenplay written by J.K. Rowling. The film will be released on November 16, 2018.