Johnny Depp’s Grindelwald made a quick cameo in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, but the character truly came into his own in the sequel.
Perhaps a reason why audiences failed to connect with The Crimes of Grindelwald was because of how much set up the sequel had to do.
His escape from Azkaban showed just how powerful the dark wizard was, and the movie’s runtime showcased how emotionally manipulative he could be as well.
The true scope of the franchise was shown, as fans got knee deep into the Wizarding War that preceded any of the action set in Harry Potter.