When Warner Bros announced it was making Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a prequel set approximately more than 60 years before the main events of the Harry Potter series, many assumed that the fantasy movie would be the first of many to follow. Sure enough, it was later announced that the 2016 fantasy movie would be the first of a trilogy, and that has since been expanded a five film series. The second entry, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, hits theaters on November 16, and following numerous reports and some official stills, today marked the release of the sequel's first trailer.
As any good teaser trailer should do, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald's first preview sprinkled in a good amount of cool moments without giving away too much of the plot. With that in mind, here are the things that caught our eye in this trailer, starting off with arguably the most talked-about casting for this movie.
First Footage Of Jude Law's Albus Dumbledore
Like most other magically-gifted adolescents in Great Britain, Newt Scamander attended Hogwarts, and during his time there, one of his instructors was the great Albus Dumbledore. Unlike most magically-gifted adolescents in Great Britain, Newt was expelled, but Dumbledore argued against him being removed from school. Years later, now these two will be reunited, and while we've already seen some pictures of Jude Law playing the younger Dumbledore, it's even better that now there's footage of him available. While Dumbledore claims to the Ministry of Magic officials that Newt is not working under his orders, we know that these two are indeed working together to stop Grindelwald. And speaking of this movie's titular antagonist...
Grindelwald Gathering Followers
In Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, it was revealed that Colin Farrell's Percival Graves was actually a disguised Gellert Grindelwald, played by Johnny Depp. Grindelwald was taken into custody by MACUSA at the end of the first movie, but months later, he'll escape early into The Crimes of Grindelwald and continue his mission to install a new regime where pureblood wizards rule over all magical beings. While it's certainly possible that in the moment above, Grindelwald and his companion have popped into a gathering unannounced, judging by the crowd not looking frightened that the most notorious dark wizard of the time is in front of them, I suspect that they're more interested in Grindelwald's prejudiced ideology.
Newt And Jacob Teaming Up Again
Like the rest of New York City's no-maj population, Jacob Kowalski had his memory erased once the main events of In Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them had wrapped up, but when Queen Goldstein stopped by his new bakery months later, it was implied that his memories of his time in the world of magic resurfaced. Sure enough, once it was announced that Dan Fogler would return for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, that was confirmation that Jacob would indeed be getting back into mystical hijinks with Newt and the gang, and he's obviously excited to be back in the fold, as you can tell when Newt tells him that they're going somewhere together.
The Return Of Credence Barebone
Even though his head is lowered in the scene above, the Obscurus energy coming out of his hand identifies that man as Ezra Miller's Credence Barebone. While it looked like MASCUA permanently destroyed Credence during In Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a small piece of the Obscurus managed to survive, hence why Credence is still walking around. It appears that Credence is demonstrating his power to Claudia Kim's character, who hasn't been officially identified yet, but is a Maledictus (someone who can transform into a beast) who is the main attraction of a magical sideshow. More on that later.
France's Magical Headquarters
Great Britain has its Ministry of Magic and the United States has its Magical Congress, and here we see what looks like the headquarters for France's own Ministry of Magic. It's an impressive set up, to be sure, and I like how the rotating display on the walls and ceiling looks like it's been ripped from the pages of an old book. Since much of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is set in Paris, presumably we'll spend a fair amount of time at France's Ministry of Magic, though it's unclear if any major action will unfold there.
Plenty Of New Beasts
When you name a film series Fantastic Beasts, it'd be pretty disappointing if one of the entries didn't include any cool magical creatures, let alone introduce new ones. Fortunately, we don't have to worry about The Crimes of Grindelwald doing this, as there will be plenty of new beasts shown off, from that owl-like bird seen above to the plant-like sea serpent that Newt is riding underwater to those winged equine that look like they've just risen from the grave. Rest assured, though, there will be some familiar creatures from the first movie returning for the sequel, like the Niffler and Newt's trusty Bowtruckle pal, Pickett.
Official Introduction Of Leta Lestrange
Zoe Kravitz cameoed as Leta Lestrange in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them through a moving photograph that Newt carried with him, but Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald marks her full introduction. While Newt and Leta were once close, once Newt took the blame for the accident that endangered a student at Hogwarts and was subsequently expelled, their relationship collapsed. Leta is now engaged to Newt's brother, Theseus, and while it remains to be seen what brings her back into Newt's life, above we see her at a gala event where a dancer has is providing some of the evening's entertainment.
A Crazy Sideshow
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is set in the late 1920s, which means that sideshows are still a popular form of entertainment, even in the magical community. As previously mentioned, Claudia Kim's character is one of the main attractions at the Le Cirque Arcanus (and I suspect she might be the one in that cage briefly shown), but the trailer also showed some patrons enjoying why I'm tentatively calling 'bubble rides.' Of course, given that this is a movie that will be filled with magical conflict, no doubt this sideshow will end up either being the site of a fight or will be irreparably damaged by one of the characters.
Newt And Theseus In Action
Following his service in World War I, where he was declared a war hero, Theseus Scamander became an Auror for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He and Newt share what is described as a "warm relationship," with their only issue being that they don't quite understand one another, though I suspect Theseus being engaged to Leta Lestrange doesn't help either. In any case, the events of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald will result in Newt and Theseus teaming up, and hopefully their combined skills will be enough to defeat whatever formidable threat is causing chaos in the scene above.
