Just because Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is set over 60 years before the events of the Harry Potter series doesn't mean there won't be any significant connections to the Boy Who Loved's mythology. In the April trailer, we learned that Albus Dumbledore, then an instructor at Hogwarts, vouched for Newt Scamander before his expulsion. Now one of the stars of the movie, Ezra Miller, is making sure that everyone, from hardcore fans to casual watchers, know that the prequel will also be tied to the most famous Dark Wizard after Voldemort: Gellert Grindelwald.
Full disclosure, this isn't the first time Gellert Grindelwald has been referenced in the Fantastic Beasts marketing. In the most recent full-length trailer, President Seraphina Picquery name-dropped him, and a few weeks later, the mastermind of this universe, J.K. Rowling, mentioned that the movie would touch on a part of Harry Potter history that's never been seen before, which was then followed by a newspaper headline mentioning Grindelwald. That said, Ezra Miller, who plays the mysterious Credence Barebone, took the opportunity in this video to make sure all the non-Harry Potter enthusiasts are aware of how significant this connection is. As he put it:
Fantastic Beasts takes place in 1926, which is around when Grindelwald was beginning his attacks across Europe. Which might be connected, might not be connected, but might be connected to Grindelwald's rise to power. If you're freaking out as hard as I am right now, thank you, because it's good to not be alone.
You can hear Ezra Miller comments on this interesting twist for yourself below:
For those who aren't aware/don't have their Harry Potter lore memorized, Gellert Grindelwald was a Dark Wizard who terrorized the world in the early 20th century. Fantastic Beasts is set during the period. This means we may learn a clue in the prequel about how this evildoer became so powerful. Years later, Grindelwald and Dumbledore fought each other in a duel, and when the latter came out victorious, he obtained the Elder Wand, which was stolen from his tomb decades later by Voldemort. But we've already covered those events in the Deathly Hallows movies.
It remains to be seen just how much of Fantastic Beasts' attention will be devoted to Gellert Grindelwald, but with four more sequels on the way, it's a good bet that this isn't the last we've heard of this Dark Wizard. In fact, don't be surprised if someone is eventually cast to play him in his younger years. As for this first movie, its main plot will revolve around Newt Scamander and his friends trying to recapture the magical creatures that escaped his TARDIS-like briefcase, all while avoiding both the U.S. Wizarding authorities, overseen by Colin Farrell's Percival Graves, and a No-Maj extremist group, led by Samantha Morton's Mary Lou Barebone, that is determined to kill all witches and wizards.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them casts its spell in theaters on November 18.
