The timeline of the Wizarding World is a mess. Honestly, if you try to map out the fantastic beasts order without a guide, you’re going to end up staring at a whiteboard like a conspiracy theorist. Between the 1920s setting of the films and the 1990s setting of the original Harry Potter books, there is a massive gap of history that J.K. Rowling decided to fill with Newt Scamander and a very young, very well-dressed Albus Dumbledore.
Most people just think, "Oh, I'll watch them as they came out." Sure. That works for most things. But the way these movies bleed into the lore of the original series means that your experience changes depending on whether you’re a total newbie or a die-hard Potterhead who knows exactly what happens in 1945.
📖 Related: The Day Before Christmas Movie 2024: Why This Phone Swap Romance Actually Works
The Release Order: The Way Most People Saw It
If you want to watch the fantastic beasts order exactly as it hit theaters, it's pretty straightforward. You start with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016). Then you move into The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018), and finally The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022). That’s the trilogy we have so far.
Watching them this way allows you to see the visual effects evolve. It also lets you experience the "shock" reveals as they were intended. For example, the ending of the first movie—where a certain character’s identity is revealed—was a massive deal back in 2016. If you watch them out of order or read too many spoilers first, that moment loses all its punch.
It’s worth noting that the production of these films was chaotic. Ezra Miller’s legal troubles, Johnny Depp being replaced by Mads Mikkelsen, and the shifting release dates due to the pandemic all impacted how these stories were told. You can actually feel the shift in tone between the second and third movies as the writers tried to course-correct based on fan feedback.
The Chronological Order (The Prequel Timeline)
If we are talking strictly about the fantastic beasts order within the context of the history of magic, these films serve as a massive prequel to the Harry Potter saga. They start in 1926. This is decades before Harry is even a thought.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Set in 1926): We follow Newt Scamander to New York City. This is the "purest" of the movies because it actually focuses on the creatures. We meet the Niffler. We meet the Bowtruckle. It feels like a whimsical adventure until the darker subplot involving Obscurials starts to take over.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (Set in 1927): This one moves the action to Paris. It’s a lot denser. Some fans hate it because there are so many subplots—Leta Lestrange’s family tree, Credence Barebone’s identity, and the introduction of a younger Albus Dumbledore played by Jude Law. It’s arguably the most "lore-heavy" film in the series.
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (Set in 1932): This jumps forward a few years. We get into the politics of the wizarding world. It’s basically a magical heist movie centered around a wizarding election. This film was supposed to lead us closer to the legendary 1945 duel between Dumbledore and Grindelwald, but since the franchise is currently in limbo, this is where the timeline pauses.
Does the Order Change if You Include Harry Potter?
Sorta. If you are doing a "Mega Marathon," you put these three first. Then you wait about fifty years in your imagination and start with The Sorcerer's Stone.
The problem with doing this is the "prequel problem." Prequels often assume you know the ending. When Dumbledore looks at the Mirror of Erised in The Crimes of Grindelwald, it only carries emotional weight if you’ve already seen the Harry Potter movies and know about his tragic history with his family. If you watch the fantastic beasts order first, some of the best emotional payoffs will fly right over your head.
✨ Don't miss: Carrie Underwood and Vince Gill: Why How Great Thou Art Still Matters
Why the Order of Fantastic Beasts Matters for the Lore
Basically, these movies aren't just about catching magical animals. They are a history lesson. They explain how the wizarding world dealt with the rise of wizard-fascism under Gellert Grindelwald.
If you watch them in the wrong order, the character arc of Credence Barebone (played by Ezra Miller) makes zero sense. His journey from an oppressed "No-Maj" orphan to a powerful wizard is the spine of the trilogy. Also, the blood pact between Dumbledore and Grindelwald is introduced in the second movie and resolved—mostly—in the third. Watching those out of sequence would be like reading a mystery novel starting with the last chapter.
Common Misconceptions About the Series Order
I see people online asking if the Fantastic Beasts book should be read before or after the movies. Here is the thing: the "book" isn't a novel. It’s an encyclopedia. J.K. Rowling wrote it in 2001 for Comic Relief. It’s a textbook that Harry Potter would have used at Hogwarts.
It doesn't have a plot.
So, if you buy the "Fantastic Beasts" book thinking you’re getting the story of Newt and Tina, you’re going to be disappointed. You’re getting a list of dragons and hippogriffs. The "screenplays" are what you want if you prefer reading the story. Those follow the movie release dates exactly.
Another big confusion point is the "missing" movies. Originally, this was supposed to be a five-film arc. It was going to end in 1945. But because the box office numbers for The Secrets of Dumbledore weren't exactly stellar, Warner Bros. hasn't greenlit the fourth or fifth films. So, the fantastic beasts order currently feels unfinished. We are stuck in 1932, waiting for a finale that might never come in movie form.
How to Get the Most Out of Your Rewatch
If you’re planning to dive back into these, don't just mindlessly watch. Look for the connections.
Notice the Lestrange family name. That connects directly to Bellatrix. Look at the Mirror of Erised scenes. Look at the Pensieve. These are tools we see later in the Harry Potter films, but here, they are being used by people who are still figuring out the stakes of the coming war.
Honestly, the best way to enjoy the fantastic beasts order is to view it as a standalone political drama that happens to have magic. If you expect it to feel exactly like Harry Potter, you’ll be frustrated. It’s more adult. It’s more cynical. It’s about the failure of institutions and the complexity of old friendships.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Viewing
- Start with the 2016 film to establish Newt's character and his relationship with the creatures. It's the "heart" of the series.
- Watch the extended editions if you can find them. Some deleted scenes in The Crimes of Grindelwald actually help clarify the confusing family tree plot points.
- Pay attention to the suit colors. It sounds weird, but Colleen Atwood’s costume design tells you a lot about which "side" characters are on before they even speak.
- Read the original Fantastic Beasts textbook after the first movie. It’s fun to see which animals Newt mentioned in the "textbook" actually showed up on screen.
- Ignore the 1945 gap for now. Don't drive yourself crazy wondering how we get from movie three to the end of the war; there is a 13-year gap that hasn't been written yet.
The fantastic beasts order is currently a trilogy, and while it's an "open" story, the three films we have create a relatively cohesive arc for Newt Scamander. Whether we ever see the legendary duel between Dumbledore and Grindelwald on the big screen remains a mystery of the Ministry, but for now, these three films are your definitive guide to the early 20th-century Wizarding World.