'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them': Will David Yates direct?
Yates is reportedly in negotiations to direct 'Beasts,' a new story set in the world of 'Harry Potter.' Yates directed the well-received final four movies in the 'Potter' film series.
'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' is by J.K. Rowling.
Will “Harry Potter” director David Yates take the helm for the upcoming movie based in the “Potter” universe, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”?
Variety reporter Justin Kroll wrote that “Yates … has agreed to return” for “Beasts” and that “both sides are in negotiations.” Meanwhile, Borys Kit of the Hollywood Reporter also wrote that Yates is “in negotiations.”
Warner Bros., the studio behind “Beasts,” had no comment, according to Variety.
“Beasts” is based on a book of the same name written by “Potter” author J.K. Rowling in the style of a textbook for magic students. The movie will reportedly center on “Beasts” author Newt Scamander and his adventures. The screenplay for the first movie is being written by Rowling.
Yates directed the last four “Potter” films, from “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” based on the fifth “Potter” volume, to the two movies based on the book “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.” The last four movies were some of the most critically acclaimed films of the series, with “Deathly Hallows – Part Two” holding a score of 87 out of 100 on review aggregator website Metacritic, the highest score of any “Potter” movie on the site.
Monitor film critic Peter Rainer wrote of Yates’s work on “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” “’Half-Blood Prince’ is in every way superior to its immediate predecessor, 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,' which, like this film, was directed by David Yates. Maybe he just felt more comfortable this time around dealing with kids whose emotions were rampagingly human. He's good with the other stuff, too – the sinister elements without which ‘Harry Potter’ wouldn't be ‘Harry Potter.’”
The “Potter” trilogy was directed by four different directors, with “Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief” director Chris Columbus taking the lead on the first two installments, Alfonso Cuaron of “Gravity” directing the third film “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” “Great Expectations” helmer Mike Newell taking on the fourth film “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” and Yates directing the rest.