The Harry Potter novel and film franchises might have ended years ago, but J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World has continued expanding. This has been done through Pottermore, the Cursed Child plays, as well as the Fantastic Beasts movies. Rowling has planned five prequel movies, which should help illuminate the world Harry and his friends occupied in the original series.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald had a ton more connections to the Harry Potter franchise, with the inclusion of Mcgonagall, Nagini, and Jude Law's younger Albus Dumbledore. J.K. Rowling has previously discussed the complicated relationship that Dumbledore shares with Johnny Depp's villain Grindelwald, which is at least partly romantic in nature. Now Rowling has expanded her thoughts on this love/hate dynamic, saying:
Their relationship was incredibly intense. It was passionate, and it was a love relationship. But as happens in any relationship, gay or straight or whatever label we want to put on it, one never knows really what the other person is feeling. You can’t know, you can believe you know. So I’m less interested in the sexual side – though I believe there is a sexual dimension to this relationship – than I am in the sense of the emotions they felt for each other, which ultimately is the most fascinating thing about all human relationships.
It looks like there's a lot left to unpack regarding Dumbledore and Grindelwald. As such, we should expect this to be a major part of the narrative as the Fantastic Beasts franchise continues on. After all, they didn't even share a scene in The Crimes of Grindelwald.
J.K. Rowling's new comments come from the special feature of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (via Radio Times). Rowling has been known to be more open and vocal about the denizens of the Wizarding World after movies are already released, expanding the universe even if not every scene makes it to the big screen. That's also the case when it comes to the current franchise's villain, and his complicated feelings toward Albus Dumbledore.
Dumbledore's sexuality was revealed by J.K. Rowling years ago, and sent the fandom reeling. The news was met with some backlash, as his romantic life would never be seen on screen anyway. But that changed with Fantastic Beasts, as his personal life will directly affect the events of the franchise. His fallout with Grindelwald is no doubt motivating the dark wizard's evil quest, and the twist ending of Crimes of Grindelwald also revealed yet another personal Dumbledore connection.
Ezra Miller's Credence Barebone ultimately joined Queenie and the rest of Grindelwald's forces during the film's third act. What's more, Johnny Depp's villain revealed that the powerful obscurial was actually Aurelius Dumbledore, Albus' brother. Credence's phoenix seemed to prove this, and it should be fascinating to see how Grindelwald continues to manipulate the young wizard, while attacking Dumbledore.
It's currently unclear when the third Fantastic Beasts movie will arrive in theaters, but be sure to check back with CinemaBlend for the latest on the Wizarding World. What's more, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
