Ever since the agonising cliffhanger left at the end of “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald”, fans of the Wizarding World have been pining for some clarity. While there were some elements of the film that we found profoundly fascinating, there were others that left us scratching our heads. Then, there were some plotholes and twists in the film that had us downright fuming. How the hell is Credence connected to Dumbledore?
Sorry, sorry, we’re getting ahead of ourselves. There’s also been developments over the years that have forced Warner Bros. to make some critical changes to the franchise. Namely, actor Johnny Depp being asked to bow out from his role as the infamous Gellert Grindelwald.
With Warner Bros. dropping their official trailer for the sequel, “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore”, it’s time for answers. Contrary to Dumbledore’s kindly bearded face, the wizard has more than a boggart in his closet. He’s got some secrets that need revealing and there are some burning questions that need to be answered. So without further ado, these are the mysteries we’re hoping “Secrets of Dumbledore” will uncover!
1. The True Identity of Credence Barebone
Some of you are probably going: We already know the answer to that. He’s Aurelius, Dumbledore’s brother. Really? Is he though? We’re not convinced. There is not a single shred of evidence in the books or past films about Dumbledore having a secret brother. Furthermore, there are some major discrepancies with regards to the timeline. There’s absolutely no way Credence could be Albus’ brother. Their mother died 8 years before he was born and their father was in Azkaban, and also died before Credence was born. His age is established in “Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them” with Ezra Miller confirming Credence to be 18 years old in the film. So even if daddy Dumbledore had an affair, his son would have to be around 34 years old!
It seems that the film’s writer, J.K. Rowling, has written herself into a corner with no logical explanation. Other than the very lacklustre possibility of Grindelwald having lied to Credence about his identity. Sure, that’s plausible but that would just be so arbitrary and random. That being said, we’re still crossing our fingers hoping that Rowling and writer Steve Kloves can fix this plothole with some creative magic. We just hope they don’t resort to time-travel, now that would be horrible.
2. The Death of Ariana Dumbledore
In the “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” book, we learned of a legendary three-way duel between Grindelwald and the two brothers, Albus and Aberforth. This was the Duel at Godric Hollow, the battle that tore his relationship with Grindelwald apart. The day he realised that his friend and lover was a dangerous Dark Wizard. The two brothers fought with Grindelwald while their sister, Ariana attempted to intervene in the battle but had trouble controlling her powers, much like Credence. Tragically, she was struck down and killed by one of the three wizards. Till this day, no one knows who was directly responsible for Ariana’ death.
“The Secrets of Dumbledore” is the perfect film to finally put this mystery to rest. For years, fans have speculated on who delivered the killing spell. Was it Grindelwald in his blind rage? Was it a stray bolt form Albus or Aberforth? At their funeral, we know that Aberforth broke Albus’ nose and blamed him for their sister’s death. Ever since that fateful duel, Albus has never forgiven himself for Ariana. We can just imagine Grindelwald using Dumbledore’s shame and guilt against him, twisting it like a knife in his heart. It would be so awesome and melacholic to see one of the most iconic duels in the Wizarding World put to screen!
3. The Wizarding World and World War II
During the period in which humanity was engaged in the bloodiest conflict of the 20th century, a global wizarding war was occuring around the same time as well. We heard mentions of it in the “Deathly Hallows” book but it was scant on details. Then, “Crimes of Grindelwald” proceeded to drop a massive bombshell on us. Apparently, Grindelwald in the 1920s was well-aware of the impending war to come. In the Lestrange Family Mausoleum, he showed visions of the Nazis, the holocaust and an atomic bomb dropped. He used the horrors to come to motivate wizards and witches to rise up and save the Muggle world from themselves.
Near the end of World War II, Grindelwald was defeated and sent away to live out his days in Azkaban. Long before the First Wizarding War and the Battle of Hogwarts, there was a magical war that possibly shaped real world events. We would want nothing more than to see how Dumbledore, Grindelwald and other wizards sowed the seeds of humanity’s most devastating war. Did Albus help the Allies? Did Grindelwald collaborate with the Axis forces? There is a secret history of how the Wizarding World influenced the outcome of World War II and we can’t wait to find out!
4. Is Jacob Kowalski a Wizard?
In our mind, Kowalski is a wizard in all but name. He might be a Squib but there’s no way he is just your ordinary No Maj. Don’t believe us? Well, what about his ability to somehow resist the Oblivate spell cast in “Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them”. In the very next film, he managed to have all his memories restored of Queenie and Newt. That seems awfully convinient. Now, we see him in the trailer carrying around a wand given to him by Dumbledore. No Majs, or Muggles, are widely known to be unable to use magic, and wands require their users to have that ability to function. Yet, here we are with Kowalski carrying one in “Secrets of Dumbledore”!
Now, Rowling could be adding some extra-canonical (or lore-breaking) details in the film about how No Majs can use a special type of wand to perform magic. It’s more likely, though, that everyone’s favourite baker is actually a secret wizard this whole time. We love Kowalski’s fish-out-of-water perspective as the regular guy but all the hints seem to be imply that he’s got magic in him. Hopefully, Rowling clears this up in the film. Till then, we’re sticking to our guns on Kowalski being a secret wizard.
5. Grindelwald’s True Face
By the time “Secrets of Dumbledore” will be released, we would have had three different actors portray the infamous Dark Wizard. The switch from Colin Farrell to Johnny Depp was a little jarring but it still made sense. He was using human transfiguration to adopt Percival Graves’ identity in an effort to locate Credence. With Mads Mikkelsen taking over Depp’s role though, Grindelwald’s new appearance would definitely be a difficult issue to sidestep. Don’t get us wrong, we think Mikkelsen is a phenomenal choice for Grindelwald. We’re just curious as to how the director David Yates and Rowling plan on addressing Mikkelsen’s transition.
Long before Voldemort appeared on the scene, Grindelwald’s face must have been the most well-known one by every magical authority on the planet. The man was public enemy no. 1. The question is: Did the Depp’s incarnation of Grindelwald alter his appearance to that of Mikkelsen’s to avoid the authorities? Or will Rowling and Yates reveal that Depp’s incarnation was merely a ruse and that Mikkelsen’s version is what his character truly looks like? Then again, they could just clumsily go the “Iron Man 2” route and have everyone awkwardly pretend as if nothing had happened.
All will be revealed come April 2022. Till then, be sure to check out Warner Bros’ latest first official trailer for “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore”!
So what did you guys think of the trailer for “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore”? Are you excited to see Mads Mikkelsen in action as Gellert Grindelwald? Be sure to let us know in the comments!
