With J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. having found a way to potentially keep the Harry Potter franchise alive in some form with Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, the push to get these films made is moving forward as it looks like a director is being courted. The eight film franchise saw a few different directors on it with Chris Columbus doing the first two and then Alfonso Cuaron and Mike Newell getting involved, but it was David Yates who had the biggest investment as he directed the final four films of the franchise, which were growing up, getting darker and receiving a lot of attention and box office visits.
Set for release on November 18th, 2016, it’s now being reported that David Yates has agreed to direct the first installment in this franchise now that Alfonso Cuaron has passed on it, so it’s all down to the lawyers doing their final negotiations. This is certainly a positive sign overall as Yates is well versed in Potter lore and is generally a pretty respected director for handling the franchise and films in general. His involvement will provide some much needed continuity – even if the work is in the past – and it’ll provide some reassurance for fans of the films that the right kind of people will be involved.
[Source: Variety]
