MuggleNet 2018 Year in Review

2018 certainly felt like the never-ending year. Luckily, we had plenty of magical news to keep us occupied! Whether you were waiting for the premiere of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, new Harry Potter merch, or Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, there was something for everyone this year!

The year started out full of new information about Crimes of Grindelwald, with a little bit of controversy sprinkled in. We got to see some seriously exciting new footage that premiered at A Celebration of Harry Potter and learned that each forthcoming Fantastic Beasts film will be set in a new city. Director David Yates ignited an Internet debate when he stated that Dumbledore won’t be “explicitly gay” in Crimes of Grindelwald. While he did backtrack later, the comments certainly stirred up some anger on both sides of the argument.

In February, it was revealed that fans would be able to revisit the Triwizard Tournament with the announcement that the Goblet of Fire would be returning to Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter. Potter merch collectors everywhere rejoiced when the New York Toy Fair showed off its extensive list of new magical figures and other merchandise. Cursed Child started awards season off right by taking home the award for Best West End Show. And Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe, got candid in an interview with Entertainment Tonight where he discussed his acting roles post-Potter.

Going into March, the news showed no sign of slowing down! The new mobile game Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery began preregistration and released a gameplay teaser video to get fans amped up for the forthcoming release. It was a big month for Crimes of Grindelwald fans as well, because not only did the film start the #WandsReady campaign for fans to show off their excitement for the trailer, but also, the official teaser trailer was released a day later – AND Scholastic announced that it would be publishing the official screenplay of the film.

April was a big month for Cursed Child, which became the highest-grossing play in Broadway history. Two of the production’s stars, Noma Dumezweni and Anthony Boyle, were nominated for the Distinguished Performance Award at the Drama League Awards, and the production itself landed ten Outer Critics Circle Award nominations! And the excitement didn’t stop there! Jamie Parker was determined eligible for a Tony Award for his performance of the Boy Who Lived in Cursed Child. Moving away from Cursed Child news, fans were finally able to attend Hogwarts virtually when Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery was released for iOS and Android, and we were treated to some new footage from Crimes of Grindelwald.

The awards didn’t stop coming in May! Cursed Child scored big with ten Tony Award nominations (taking home six of those) and six wins at the Outer Critics Circle Awards. The play also took home the award for Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Play. In Crimes of Grindelwald news, we got our first look at the cover art for the screenplay of the film, the official trailer was nominated for a Golden Trailer award (which it ended up winning in June), and J.K. Rowling let everyone in on the secret that she was officially working on the script for the third Fantastic Beasts film.

Halfway through the year, J.K. Rowling was not only inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame but also invited to become a voting member of the Academy Awards! West Coast United States fans of Cursed Child got the exciting news that the production is heading to San Francisco, and Daniel Radcliffe made a triumphant return to Broadway in the production of The Lifespan of a Fact.

July is Comic-Con month, and as such, we received a plethora of exciting news regarding Crimes of Grindelwald. We received our first look at Newt Scamander as a young’un at Hogwarts, got to see the beautifully designed first poster for the film, AND got a new trailer! Phew, it was certainly a crazy time!

Funko Pop! collectors were delighted in August when the company launched a new line of posable Potter figures with accessories. Everyone was also given the ability to finally show off just how much Potter knowledge they have when Trivial Pursuit released World of Harry Potter: Ultimate Edition. (Spoiler alert: It’s quite difficult!) The beautiful and multi-talented Natalie Dormer became the newest voice behind Potter audiobooks and narrated Harry Potter: A History of Magic. Maybe we’ll see her show up in one of the Fantastic Beasts movies to come? One can only hope… Speaking of Fantastic Beasts, MuggleNet was granted special access to the set of the film and came back with some juicy details!

As autumn and start of term at Hogwarts approached, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone celebrated its 20th anniversary. Everyone’s favorite Ravenclaw, Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood), surprised fans with news that she had officially joined the cast of Dancing with the Stars. We were also officially given the FINAL trailer for Crimes of Grindelwald.

Spooky season arrived, and October brought more exciting news to the wizarding world. Over at Universal Studios, we got a first look at a new ride that would be replacing the beloved Dragon Challenge, and butterbeer sales topped over 20 million cups sold! As the premiere for Crimes of Grindelwald inched nearer, we got more and more inside looks into the film, including information about a mysterious new character, Yusuf Kama, information about how J.K. Rowling wrote Dumbledore for Crimes of Grindelwald, and our first listen of the new soundtrack!

November was exciting for video game fans, with a new trailer for the much-awaited Harry Potter: Wizards Unite being released and LEGO Harry Potter being released on new platforms. November was dominated, however, by news surrounding the premiere of Crimes of Grindelwald. New scenes and character information galore! And let’s not forget that another Potter alumna was honored by the Queen: Emma Thompson officially became Dame Emma Thompson.

Ending out the year with a bang, December allowed us to sit down and catch up with Ronald Weasley himself, Rupert Grint, who reminisced on his time playing Ron. Over in Broadway news, we were also able to hear all about Daniel Radcliffe’s new production, as well as get a new look at the Princess Theatre in Melbourne, where Cursed Child will be playing.

All in all, it’s been a busy but fantastic year! Thank you for spending it with us here at MuggleNet. What was your favorite part?