The key fantastic beast this time around is the Qilin, a kind of Chinese unicorn that can see into people’s souls and the future. In 1932, Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) witnesses the birth of one of these creatures in northern China, and does what he can to spare the animals from the predations of the dark wizard Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen, replacing Johnny Depp), who believes he can harness their powers by killing them. Opposition to Grindelwald falls largely on the shoulders of Newt and his allies, as Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) – still bound by a blood pact – is unable to confront Grindelwald directly.

Following the lead of the first two films (and setting up two more to follow), we’re shown increasingly more of the non-Anglophone wizarding world. This time, the action takes us to China, Germany, Brazil and Bhutan for a globe-trotting adventure that much improves upon the previous entry.