Entertainment
Harry Potter Character Clued In ‘Fantastic Beasts 2’ Teaser
Not unlike the Star Wars Universe, the Harry Potter Universe seems to be ever expanding. The first Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them film was released in 2016 and FIVE more penned (at least partially) by series creator J.K. Rowling herself will follow. The plan is to release a new Fantastic Beasts film every two years.
It has been announced that the creator of the Sorcerer’s stone, Nicholas Flamel, will be in the sequel and played by Brontis Jodorowsky.
Fans of the books/films will remember Flamel as the eternal wizard who was good friends with Dumbledore but wasn’t shown in the first film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. With Voldemort splitting his soul seven times, he needed something like that stone to form a new body but he was stopped at the last minute by Harry Potter.
It’ll be interesting to see how he factors into the second of five films, as he will be in his prime in the film with the stone, which probably means that Grindelwald made good on his promise at the end of the first Fantastic Beasts and escaped the prison that the MACUSA put him in. In fact, according to the Fantastic Beasts 2 synopsis — that was released when they started filming in July — that’s exactly what he did:
Fantastic Beasts 2 opens in 1927, a few months after Newt helped to unveil and capture the infamous Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald. However, as he promised he would, Grindelwald has made a dramatic escape and has been gathering more followers to his cause — elevating wizards above all non-magical beings. The only one who might be able to stop him is the wizard he once called his dearest friend, Albus Dumbledore. But Dumbledore will need help from the wizard who had thwarted Grindelwald once before, his former student Newt Scamander. The adventure reunites Newt with Tina, Queenie and Jacob, but his mission will also test their loyalties as they face new perils in an increasingly dangerous and divided wizarding world.
The first Fantastic Beasts film was somewhat positively received by fans and critics but did set up a future that should blow even casual fans away. The story revolved around Eddie Redmayne’s Newt Scamander, who traveled to the United States to release one of the beasts he had rescued and studied for his textbook.
Somehow he ended up in the middle of one of the biggest battles in the wizarding world ever, at least until Voldemort showed up. That battle was between Gellert Grindelwald and a young Albus Dumbledore — and really mankind itself as he believed that wizards were superior to humans and thus shouldn’t “hide” anymore.
Gellert Grindelwald was shown at the end of the film to be played by Johnny Depp, whereas it’s been announced that the young Dumbledore will be played by Jude Law. When the Fantastic Beasts films were announced people questioned how Rowling would be able to stretch five stories out of a textbook from the original books/films.
Considering the fact that they’re essentially building towards what has been called the “best wizarding duel of all-time,” which took place between Grindelwald and Dumbledore — the second time they fought — it looks like they almost have too much to cover. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2 will be released on November 18th, 2018.