It’s time to raise a Butterbeer in cheers, Harry Potter fans. We now know the official title for Newt Scamander’s (Eddie Redmayne) next adventure: Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald.
Along with a film date (November 16, 2018, by the way), we also got a peek at the full cast – including Jude Law as the powerful (and super young) Albus Dumbledore. (You can take a look at the full announcement above.)
Ezra Miller’s character Credence is back for round two (despite the fact he seemed to die in Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them), as well as the film’s villain, Gellert Grindewald (Johnny Depp).
Jude Law as Albus Dumbledore
Newt Scamander (Redmayne) and Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston)
We also get to see Zoë Kravitz as Leta Lestrange, Newt’s former love who is now engaged to his brother Theseus (Callum Turner). Awkwarddd.
Let’s not forget that sweet Queenie (Alison Sudol) and No-Maj Jacob (Dan Fogler) will be returning and honestly, it’s the second best love story we’ve seen in the wizarding world apart from Ron and Hermione.
The official plot description reads: “At the end of the first film, the powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Depp) was captured by MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States of America), with the help of Newt Scamander (Redmayne). But, making good on his threat, Grindelwald escaped custody and has set about gathering followers, most unsuspecting of his true agenda: to raise pure-blood wizards up to rule over all non-magical beings.
“In an effort to thwart Grindelwald’s plans, Albus Dumbledore (Law) enlists his former student Newt Scamander, who agrees to help, unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. Lines are drawn as love and loyalty are tested, even among the truest friends and family, in an increasingly divided wizarding world.”
Lestrange (Zoë) and Newt’s brother, Theseus (Callum)
The history between Dumbledore and Grindelwald is a murky one. We know from the Harry Potter series that the two were friends when they were teenagers and soon became obsessed with the Deathly Hallows – the Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone and the Cloak of Invisibility. When Grindewald’s plans became too extreme, Dumbledore’s brother, Aberforth, stepped in and the three of them started duelling. Their sister, Ariana, was killed in the conflict.
Grindewald fled and started amassing an army. After stealing the Elder Wand, he became one of the most powerful Dark Wizards in history and it was only Dumbledore who could defeat him in 1945, and reclaim the Elder Wand for himself.
Given the first Fantastic Beasts film takes place in 1926 and the fifth and final film will end in 1945, we can assume that the battle between good and bad is far from over.
