Decoding the big reveals of Fantastic Beasts’ sequel
“Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” makes some major moves in tying itself to the “Harry Potter” mythology, and that means a few key reveals from the lady in charge, J.K. Rowling.
The screenwriter of the “Beasts” prequel series, Rowling ignites a war in the wizarding world in the new sequel, and because there are no real books to go with this franchise — like the “Potter” movies had — the shockers are even more so for Potterheads.
Spoiler alert! We’re discussing plot points integral to the end of the “Fantastic Beasts” sequel, so beware if you haven’t seen it yet.
THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING.
OK, let’s break the big reveals down.
A hero takes a walk on the dark side
In the “Fantastic” sequel, dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) gathers followers for his sinister plans for pureblood wizards to rule the world. One of the folks who falls under his persuasive sway is mind reader Queenie Goldstein (Alison Sudol), whose romantic relationship with No-Maj boyfriend Jacob (Dan Fogler) isn’t kosher with the magical law enforcement.
At a late-night rally at Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris, where Grindelwald shows his devotees future visions of the Second World War — rolling tanks, concentration camps, nuclear explosions — warning of what happens if wizards don’t take their “rightful place,” Queenie chooses to go with him rather than stay with Jacob. It sets up a potential sister-vs.-sister matchup between Queenie and Tina (Katherine Waterston) in the third film, plus some relationship drama with her heartbroken beau.
The Dumbledore family just got a new member
Troubled young wizard Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller), possessing a dark Obscurus force and sought out by Grindelwald, is said to be part of a prophecy involving the last in a pure-blood wizarding line. French-African wizard Yusuf Kama (William Nadylam) tracks Credence to Paris, thinking he might be the mysterious Corvus Lestrange. However, Leta Lestrange (Zoe Kravitz) comes clean with her dark secret, that her half-brother drowned on the way to America after she swapped him with a better-behaved baby aboard a soon-to-be-sinking ship (that may have been the Titanic?!) .
The truth, believe or not, is a lot more dramatic. At the end of the movie Grindelwald tells Credence, who is desperate to find his true identity, that his real name is Aurelius Dumbledore, the long-lost brother of wizard Albus (Jude Law). Now, Grindelwald’s not the most truthful guy and he might be saying this just to have an ultimate weapon against his former close friend (more on that in a minute). On the other hand, if Grindelwald’s on the level, this is a huge, gamechanging connection to one of the Potterverse’s most key characters.
Miller, a huge “Potter” fan, was excited to hear about Credence’s new familial ties. “Give me a scale of one to freaking out, and I’ll tell you that I freaked out. I was buzzing,” the actor tells USA Today, adding that he’s geeked for what happens in the third “Beasts” film. “For me, the thing that’s funny is I’ve been overpreparing for these films my entire life... If you think I haven’t already put in something like 75,000 hours in a wormhole of thought and preparation into a movie I have not yet read a script for, then you clearly don’t know me at all.”
But there is good news — and maybe a way to turn the tide.
What we know about Dumbledore and Grindelwald’s very close, personal relationship is that it ended badly — the specifics probably will be revealed later, but Dumbledore tells his former pupil Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) he can’t move against Grindelwald. The reason: As youngsters, Dumbledore and Grindelwald took a blood pact, so magically they can’t fight each other.
But wait: At the sequel’s end, the charm Grindelwald wears bearing their blood gets stolen by Newt’s Niffler, a creature known for pilfering shiny things, and the finale finds Newt and his allies taking it to Dumbledore to see if he can destroy it. Because one way to foil a dark wizard is to unleash an equally powerful dude in Law’s magic man.