--- title: J.K. Rowling Announces We'll Get 5 'Fantastic Beasts' Movies description: The author made a surprise appearance at a fan event for the movie—and unexpectedly dropped the news, to the actors' surprise. canonical: https://time.com/4530643/fantastic-beasts-franchise/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-13T21:01:30.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-06-24T06:57:04.487Z og:title: J.K. Rowling Says There Will Be 5 Fantastic Beasts Movies og:description: The author made a surprise appearance at a fan event Thursday to break the news. og:url: https://time.com/4530643/fantastic-beasts-franchise/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt068e34537f64a376/6988992d656a3f0c80bcc071/eddie-redmayne-fantastic-beasts.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: J.K. Rowling Says There Will Be 5 Fantastic Beasts Movies twitter:description: The author made a surprise appearance at a fan event Thursday to break the news. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt068e34537f64a376/6988992d656a3f0c80bcc071/eddie-redmayne-fantastic-beasts.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # J.K. Rowling Says There Will Be 5 _Fantastic Beasts_ Movies > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. 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Accio sequels... and sequels... and sequels_  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Oct 13, 2016 9:01 PM UTC  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Oct 13, 2016 9:01 PM UTC During a pre-premiere fan event on Thursday, _Harry Potter_ [author J.K. Rowling](http://time.com/4434040/jk-rowling-harry-potter-fantastic-beasts/?iid=sr-link1) confirmed an exciting tidbit for advance fans of the [new _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ magical movie franchise](http://time.com/4288830/fantastic-beasts-trailer-harry-potter/?iid=sr-link5): she’s planning on penning a total of five installments in the series. At the event, which was livestreamed on Twitter, a panel of the actors (including [Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne](http://time.com/4488451/eddie-redmayne-shares-his-biggest-fear-about-filming-fantastic-beasts/?iid=sr-link1)) and director David Yates fielded fan questions for about 45 minutes before Rowling made a surprise entrance on the stage, to the crowd’s wild cheers. “David \[Yates\] has told you that we do talk about Dumbledore and Grindelwald,” Rowling first offered, referring to the [iconic wizarding characters](http://time.com/4434040/jk-rowling-harry-potter-fantastic-beasts/?iid=sr-link2) also present in her _Harry Potter_ series. But then she revealed some seriously juicy information. “We were doing some script sessions the other day, and I can tell you that we always knew it was going to be more than one movie; we knew that from the start. We said a trilogy is a kind of placeholder… I’ve now done the plotting properly, so we’re pretty sure it’s going to be five movies,” Rowling finally said, to an ecstatic audience response. The actors, for their part, were shocked; this was the first they’d heard of the extended series. Redmayne raised his eyebrows, and the actresses looked around, bemused. “Do you want me to kill you?” Rowling asked Dan Fogler, one of the other actors on the panel. Probably not, as these movies are guaranteed cinema gold. So buckle in, Beasts fans, for four whole more installments. > [](https://twitter.com/FantasticBeasts/status/786662053096230912) > [](https://twitter.com/FantasticBeasts/status/786658848715083776) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4530643/fantastic-beasts-franchise/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4530643/fantastic-beasts-franchise/"},"headline":"J.K. 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