It has been two years since we last took a trip to J.K. Rowling's wizarding world in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and us no-majs are eager to return. Well, wait no longer because the first trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is here. The sequel film reunites us with Newt Scamander, Jacob Kowalski and Tina and Queenie Goldstein. This time though, the story opens up to include legendary characters we've heard about from the Harry Potter films and novels, including Leta Lestrange, Gellert Grindelwald and a young Albus Dumbledore. There's a lot to be excited about for the legions of Potterheads out there, so cast a bubble-head charm and dive in to the trailer below.
Man, this trailer goes right to our muggle hearts with a sweeping shot of Hogwarts glistening in the sunlight, letting us know that we will be returning to the place where we first fell in love with this magical world. One of the most exciting things about this movie is the prospect of seeing a young Professor Albus Dumbledore before he was the venerated headmaster we know and love. Jude Law is playing the character and judging by this first trailer, his role in the film appears to be a sizable one. Jude Law's Dumbledore has the same sort of twinkle in his eye and problems with authority that Richard Harris' and Michael Gambon's portrayals had. It appears that Newt and Dumbledore will be working together and conducting some kind of covert mission to fight Grindelwald and the encroaching darkness. The Crimes of Grindelwald looks to be much more of a battle between the light and the dark than the 2016 film and more akin to the Harry Potter series in that way.
Newt seems to be very much an active participant in events much bigger than himself this time around and his friends Tina, Jacob and Queenie all return to help and can be seen in the trailer. We also get a glimpse of Ezra Miller's Credence Barebone, Zoe Kravitz' Leta Lestrange and a positively villainous looking Johnny Depp as Gellert Grindelwald. And lest you forget that this is still a Fantastic Beasts movie, the trailer shows that Newt won't be leaving his magical friends behind before setting out on his adventure. Mooncalves and Newt's bowtruckle Pickett can be spotted in the trailer as well as a few other magical creatures. This is of course just a trailer, but already the CGI and special effects look to have taken a leap forward from the last film as this entire trailer is a beautifully shot visual feast.
The coolest thing about this trailer, and really the film in general, is that although this is not a direct prequel to Harry Potter, it has more of the characters and things that we know and love from that series than its predecessor, while also still expanding the scope of the magical world beyond what we've seen before. The first Fantastic Beasts felt more separate from the main Potter mythology, with the name Newt Scamander being the strongest connective tissue. But here we see things like Dumbledore's deluminator, Hogwarts, and thestrals while still being introduced to new locations like Paris. The original series felt very contained to Britain and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them felt very separate from that side of the pond and the Harry Potter history, this bridges the gap and strikes a cool balance as J.K. Rowling continues to build her wizarding world.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald apparates into theaters on November 16th. For all the latest in fictional worlds you wish you lived in, stay tuned to CinemaBlend.
