Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022), directed by David Yates

There is to be an election for the leader of the magical world and a fantastic beast is required to judge which candidate is pure of heart and worthy of the role. Naturally Newt Scamander has been sent to find the beast and keep it safe, but dark wizard Grindelwald has other ideas. Far from the simple pleasures of the Harry Potter series of books and films, the Fantastic Beasts franchise went dark and complicated very quickly. A populist leader subverting the election process – what possible historical or contemporary correlations could there be? Mads Mikkelson makes a more than satisfactory replacement for Mr Depp as Grindelwald, while Richard Coyle and Callum Scott are welcome additions as the previously undisclosed brothers of Dumbledore and Scamander. But overall this third film is too long, too slow, and too dark; with not enough magical moments to lighten the load. It’s better than the second film, but not as entertaining as the first; it’s a little hard to credit that two more have been planned.