‘Fantastic Beasts 2’ Spoilers: Director Calls Movie ‘An Interesting Combination Of Genres’

People will be hard-pressed to single out the genre of “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.” Is it an adventure film? An action flick? Or maybe even a drama?

As far as director David Yates is concerned, it’s a little bit of everything. The filmmaker told Entertainment Weekly that the characters of the sequel are more grown-up, so it was exciting for them to incorporate a little bit of romance and a lot more mystery this time around.

“The first film had a level of whimsy; the characters felt like children in grown-up bodies,” he said. “In this movie, it gets grittier and more nuanced and detailed. It’s quite a romantic film, it’s a thriller, it’s quite an interesting combination of genres you rarely see together. I think it will surprise people.”

The first “Fantastic Beasts” film was mostly shot in the U.S., and J.K. Rowling even created a rich backstory for witches in America — from the magical school Ilvermorny to the Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA), which is its counterpart for the Ministry of Magic.

However, producer David Heyman said the sequel will veer away from America since the movie was mostly shot in Paris. “[The film] almost entirely takes place in Paris,” Heyman said. “We delve deeper into [J.K. Rowling’s] wizarding world — we’re in Paris, we’re in London and New York — the world is expanding.”

“As you can tell from the [cast photo], we’re following quite a few characters. The new film has a very different feel than the first. It’s got a thriller quality. And it’s also a story about love and passion and all its forms — paternal, romantic, political. And it’s just a thrilling and very fun adventure,” he continued. “We took all we’ve learned from one and just expanded that and created a richer, deeper and more thrilling film which I’m excited to be a part of.”

Eddie Redmayne will reprise his role as magizoologist Newt Scamander, while Jude Law will play the young Albus Dumbledore and Johnny Depp will plays his friend-turned-nemesis Gellert Grindelwald.

“Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” will be released on Nov. 16, 2018.