The magic kingdom
What Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald means for the wider Wizarding World
IN THE OPENING seconds of
Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone, Dumbledore motions his Deluminator at the street-lit suburbs of Surrey, drawing the light from each lamp one by one. It’s the very first use of magic in J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World — and just one of several classic Potter moments recalled in the new Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald trailer, which debuted at this year’s San Diego Comic-con.
Where the first Fantastic Beasts was more concerned with establishing the new saga’s 1920s New York setting, The Crimes Of Grindelwald seems to be rooting itself back into Rowling’s established mythology. The latest trailer is packed with creatures and artefacts ripped straight from
Potter, from the return of Dumbledore’s Deluminator (also used by Ron Weasley when Potter and pals go Horcrux hunting in The Deathly Hallows), to the allpowerful Elder Wand — one of three titular Hallows — being wielded by Grindelwald.
This revival of familiar Potter elements isn’t solely fan-service — it also tells us something about the characters. While director David Yates says Dumbledore and Grindelwald’s romantic relationship doesn’t “explicitly” feature in Crimes, the trailer invokes it with a magical object not seen since the events of The Philosopher’s Stone: the Mirror Of Erised, which reflects the true desire of whoever stands in front of it. Dumbledore sees Grindelwald in it — the reason why he dispatches Newt Scamander instead of tracking the dark wizard down himself. Then, in a flashback, Dumbledore teaches young Newt the same ‘Boggart In The Wardrobe’ class that Harry had with Professor Lupin in The Prisoner Of Azkaban. The beast reveals that Newt’s biggest fear is working behind a desk.
Of course, there are fan-service nods too — the oft-mentioned Kelpies of Rowling’s novels get a first screen appearance; The Order Of The Phoenix’s gothic flying Thestrals return in Grindelwald’s escape sequence; and Nicolas Flamel, the six-centuries-old creator of the Philosopher’s Stone, enters the series as a fully-fledged character.
With Paris beckoning, The Crimes Of Grindelwald will still expand Rowling’s Wizarding World — but some of that old magic is coming back too.
FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD IS IN CINEMAS FROM 16 NOVEMBER