'Fantastic Beasts: A Natural History' trailer shows how nature informed the films' magical creatures
There are lots of magical creatures in the Fantastic Beasts films, but the BBC Natural History Unit, London’s Natural History Museum, and Warner Bros. want you to know that there are a bunch of unbelievably magical muggle creatures (we’re looking at you, narwhals) out there as well.
In a new documentary, Stephen Fry — a comedian who also voices the Harry Potter books in the U.K. — travels the globe to learn more about Earth’s animals, including dug-up dinosaurs in Utah and the mythical monster tied to Loch Ness, Scotland.
Check out the trailer below for more glimpses of Fry’s exploits:
In addition to learning more about the muggle animals living among us, Fry will also spend time comparing the made-up creatures from the Fantastic Beasts movies to those that exist in real life. To help with that endeavor, he talks with the creative team that brought the magical creatures to life on the big screen.
“I could not be more delighted to be a part of this magnificent opportunity for us Muggles to show the Wizarding World that the fantastic beasts in our world are more than a match for theirs,” Fry said in a statement when the documentary was first announced.
This special premieres in the U.S. just a couple of weeks before the third Fantastic Beasts film, The Secrets of Dumbledore, premieres in theaters on Apr. 15, 2022. That movie has Eddie Redmayne reprising his role as Newt Scamander, as well as Jude Law as the young and dashing Dumbledore. Other actors coming back to the franchise include Ezra Miller (Credence Barebone), Katherine Waterston (Gina Goldstein), Alison Sudol (Queenie Goldstein), and Dan Fogler (Jacob Kowalski). Mads Mikkelsen is playing the antagonist (and Dumbledore’s former flame) Gellert Grindelwald, taking over the role from Johnny Depp.
The documentary feature, Fantastic Beasts: A Natural History, premieres on BBC One on Feb. 27 in the U.K. and on HBO Max in the U.S. on April 1, 2022.
