Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald could have been vastly improved with some tweaking.
1) Colin Farrell and Johnny Depp’s acting roles should have been switched. I think Colin would have been a better choice for the long-term character instead of a short-term disguise.
2) Creedence Barebone should have died. The little wisp at the end floating away indicating he somehow survived, then winds up in France in the second film is weird and doesn’t make sense. It would also eliminate the entire “who is Creedence” story which subtracts from Grindelwald’s rise.
3) Tina should have been the one to join Grindelwald’s cause, not Queenie. Tina is the one who doesn’t believe no-majs and wizards should be in relationships, is an outcast with a crappy career path, and has a hard time relating to people.
4) Once Tina joined Grindelwald, that’d be the push to make Newt choose a side. Leta dying shouldn’t be what makes Newt change his neutrality. It also adds weight to Leta’s statement “You never met a monster you couldn’t love.”
5) Leta should have joined Grindelwald and not died. There was nothing in the backstory to indicate she would sacrifice herself, and every thing pointed toward her embracing her darker nature. It also would have been an opportunity for the brothers to mend their broken relationship with both their women joining Grindelwald and allowed for some deep soul searching in the third installment about whether they contributed to their loved ones’ choices or if they ever knew them at all.
6) Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald should have focused more on the actual crimes of Grindelwald. Like all you got was him escaping, then killing a family to take over their home. And while those things aren’t great, I was hoping to see some of the crimes he has committed thus far, and then hints at in the future.
7) Some explanation of how Grindelwald seems to know everyone. Is he talented at legilimency like Queenie? Does he just read wizard family bios? This second movie should have really started building the Grindelwald character for the audience.
8) I don’t mind Nagini being introduced, however I do mind that they tied her story with Creedence’s. I think it would have been far more interesting for Grindelwald to woo Nagini with the promise of reversing the blood curse that makes her a Maledictus, jumpstarting her career of following dark wizards over false promises.
