Fans have been raving about the recently released trailer of “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.” Given the backlash the Harry Potter prequel series has been enduring, in a surprising turn of events, this new trailer has rekindled many fans’s interest and sparked some new attention.
But, of course, the scrutiny that the Harry Potter world is always under means that fans will find — and have already found — loopholes and plot holes to hold onto throughout the trailer.
The trailer starts off in the best way possible for any Harry Potter fan: a glimpse at the beloved and legendary Hogwarts, a sight that hasn’t really returned since the end of the last Harry Potter film in 2011. Viewers can see a couple of wizards apparating into Hogwarts grounds, which had fans falling into speculation and debate right off the bat.
Such a tiny detail has every fan going wild since it’s been said in past Harry Potter books that apparating into Hogwarts isn’t really possible, but who knows if there might be exceptions to that rule and therein stem the debates.
The preview gets straight to introducing the young Dumbledore everyone’s been anticipating. Played by Jude Law, this specific version of Dumbledore has been getting some mixed reactions from the fans.
He is introduced dressed in a sharp gray dress suit, not at all following the normal Hogwarts regulation of attire, but then again when has Dumbledore ever really fallen under the category of normal?
It is revealed that Dumbledore is being questioned about Newt Scamander, played by Eddie Redmayne, the quirky protagonist that everyone came to love in the first film of the expected five to come out. Newt, it seems, is going to be visiting Paris at some point of the film, he will also apparently be working closely with Dumbledore as the film progresses.
The tiny glimpses that are shown of Dumbledore being interrogated about Newt take place in a classroom every Harry Potter fan has come to recognize and even love: The Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.
While seeing the room is a great blast from the past, the appearance of Dumbledore in this classroom has caused whispers among fans. Dumbledore, as everyone came to learn reading and watching the Harry Potter franchise, was originally a transfiguration professor before he became headmaster of Hogwarts.
Seeing him in the defense classroom had fans wondering if the producers/directors were going to stray from that part of the series, as they are seemingly avoiding addressing Dumbledore’s sexuality (a story for another time).
As the trailer progresses, characters such as Tina Goldstein (played by Katherine Waterston), her sister Queenie Goldstein (played by Alison Sudol), Jacob Kowalski (played by Dan Fogler) and Credence Barebone (played by Ezra Miller) all make their return to the screen.
In between showing all these characters coming together to defeat “the darkness,” the trailer also made a point to showcase some fantastic beasts, such as a phoenix, some thestrals and, of course, the beloved little bowtruckle from the first film.
There’s only a brief shot of Grindelwald himself that brings with it the sense of urgency for Newt to defeat him with Dumbledore supporting him. There’s a sense of mystery and the unknown when it comes to figuring out why it is Newt himself that has to defeat Grindelwald, which just captures every fan’s attention.
As many fans of the franchise know, Grindelwald was responsible for a dark period of time to known as the Global Wizarding War, not to be confused with both of Voldemort’s reigns — the First and Second Wizarding wars.
Grindelwald was the dark lord before Voldemort ever came about, and his rocky history with Dumbledore, as well as his fall, which is something that many fans have been curious about since the release of the first Fantastic Beasts film and what this trailer promises further expansion in the film.
The trailer ends powerfully and enigmatically with the sign of the Deathly Hallows fading into the title of the film. Even though it’s just for the tiniest second, the inclusion of the Deathly Hallows at all adds another layer of excitement and intrigue for fans.
Both Grindelwald and Dumbledore were obsessed with the Hollows when they were younger and as they are a huge part of both of their stories, the Hallows even came to be known as Grindelwald’s sign at one point.
“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” got a lot of critiques when it came out, partly because of the amount of exposition when a film is used to set up for another, and partly because it differed so much from the original Harry Potter films, though people should have expected that. People didn’t warm up to the film right away and, for that reason, were wary about the next film as well.
The trailer for “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” surprised people though. It has an atmosphere that was closer to the first Harry Potter films, what with Hogwarts and the whole spectacle with the deluminator (a wonderful reference to the first and last Harry Potter films), and it has enough Harry Potter insiders to have fans digging their claws into it.
The film, based on the trailer, seems as if it’s going a darker, more serious inclination, one that fans are welcoming with open arms. Small little surprises, such as getting a deeper look into Newt’s mysterious past love Leta Lestrange (played by Zoë Kravitz). That last name alone has people curious and wanting to know more.
So far the majority of the fans, even though many are speculative and unsure, are excited and can’t wait to see what the next chapter of the Harry Potter franchise has in store for them. This new series has had its ups and downs with the Johnny Depp casting scandal and fans critiquing and scrutinizing every little change, but it seems like fans are genuinely excited for the next chapter.
The trailer seems promising, so hopefully that means the film won’t disappoint when it’s released on Nov. 26, 2018.
