It has been three months since Johnny Depp sent the wizarding world into total chaos as the charismatic villain in 'Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald'. This second instalment in J.K. Rowling's new magical series raked in a total of $652 million worldwide, and sent fans into madness with the never ending stream of plot twists and exciting revelations. Even now Rowling finds a way to keep Potterheads on their toes, dropping small hints about the upcoming sequel.
The 'Harry Potter' authoress recently caught fans' attention with the sudden change in photo on her Twitter header. The photo, which to most people would simply seem to be a picturesque landscape, has sent Reddit users into speculation: "This is a picture from Zhangjiajie National Forest Park which is in China. This might be a hint for future 'Fantastic Beasts' movies might set in Asia, particularly China."
According to this user Rowling's 'Fantastic Beasts' world already is closely linked to the country, saying: "Zouwu, the beast we have seen in the second movie, is a magical creature native to China."
Other users joined in, answering with further speculation that a China setting would give the creators perfect chance to give a bigger role to Gemma Chan (Madam Ya Zhou), who had a relatively small cameo in the previous film but has been gaining popularity due to her role in 'Crazy Rich Asians'. Others have suggested that the photo only hints at a scene in China, rather than revealing the setting of the entire film, perhaps when Newt Scamander releases the Zouwu into its natural habitat.
From Brazil to China
The Reddit user also commented on the fact that this is not the first time hat Rowling has used her Twitter header to reveal another potential setting for 'Fantastic Beasts', pointing out: "She also had a header from Rio de Janerio from 1930's earlier this year hinting that the third movie might take place in Brazil which is also the home for Castelobruxo school".
According to Pottermore, the Brazilian school of witchcraft and wizardry specialises in herbology and magical zoology, a branch of study in which Scamander is a true expert. To know whether this theory has any legs to stand on we will have to wait until the premier of 'Fantastic Beasts 3' on 20th November 2020.
