Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald Trailer: Feast Your Eyes on Young Dumbledore
[embedded content] The time has come to feast your eyes on Young Dumbledore. Warner Bros. has final..
The time has come to feast your eyes on Young Dumbledore. Warner Bros. has finally dropped a trailer for the upcoming blockbuster Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald—and it’s largely the Dumbledore show, featuring ample footage of Jude Law and his crinkly baby-blues inhabiting the role of the genius wizard and Hogwarts headmaster. Who could have guessed all those decades ago when Harry Potter first began that Dumbledore—wizened, hoary-headed, full of unvarnished whimsy—would be reimagined in the extended cinematic universe as a matinee babe? J.K. Rowling, that’s who.
The trailer is light on plot details, bopping back and forth between Newt Scamander’s (played by a charmingly guileless Eddie Redmayne) gray America, Paris, and Hogwarts, where young Dumbledore (in a very crisp suit, instead of the usual Hogwarts-appropriate robe) is asked about the escape of evil wizard Gellert Grindelwald (played by Johnny Depp, to the dismay of many fans). As you may recall, the first Fantastic Beasts ended with Grindelwald escaping the government’s custody and dashing off to corral pure-blood wizards into rising up over the rest of the world. A simple plan, to be sure! Dumbledore, one of the only wizards powerful enough to stop him, enlists Scamander’s help, and the pair of them jet off to stop Grindelwald cold.
As fans of the canonical Potter world will remember, Rowling has confirmed that Dumbledore is gay and was in love with Grindelwald in his youth. However, don’t expect to see any hint of that particular backstory in this installment. Director David Yatessaid in a recent interview that Dumbledore’s sexuality won’t explicitly be referenced in the movie. “But I think all the fans are aware of that,” he continued. “He had a very intense relationship with Grindelwald when they were young men. They fell in love with each other’s ideas, and ideology, and each other.” Mhmm—that’s certainly what everyone wants to see, right? One of the most important characters in the wider Harry Potter universe, falling in love with another man’s ideas. That sounds even milder than Beauty and the Beast’s “exclusively gay moment.”
Alas (earwax!), there are at least other goodies in the trailer to distract yourself with while you mourn this absurd deletion of Dumbledore’s identity. The trailer gives us a glimpse at Zoë Kravitz playing Leta Lestrange, Scamander’s close friend who is briefly mentioned in the first Fantastic Beasts. We also get a peek at Scamander’s brother Theseus, played by Callum Turner, at the 1:36 mark of the trailer. We’ll just have to keep poring over the details until the film hits theaters on Nov. 16.
Get Vanity Fair’s HWD NewsletterSign up for essential industry and award news from Hollywood.Full ScreenPhotos:Daniel Radcliffe’s Quirky Post-Harry Potter Projects: An Appreciation
The Woman in Black (2012)
This British period horror flick was Radcliffe’s first major outing post-Potter. Radcliffe starred as Arthur Kipps, a lawyer dealing with the loss of his wife who soon finds himself dealing with a supernatural threat—the titular woman in black. The movie made £14 million in its first three weeks at its home box office, a record U.K. opening for a British horror film.Photo: From CBS Films/Everett Collection.
A Young Doctor’s Notebook (2012-2013)
It’s not often you get to see Jon Hamm and Daniel Radcliffe hang out in a bathtub together, so if nothing else, A Young Doctor’s Notebook gave that to the world. Radcliffe played the titular young doctor to Hamm’s older doctor in this delightfully zany series, which was largely well received by critics and ran for two seasons.Photo: From AF Archive/Alamy.
Kill Your Darlings (2013)
In this period flick, Radcliffe took his first movie-length stab at an American accent, playing a younger version of the beloved beat poet Allen Ginsberg. Although his role entailed a much-discussed gay sex scene, Radcliffe said the hardest part was “hitting all those big emotional beats,” and crying when the script called for it.Photo: By Clay Enos/Sony Pictures/Everett Collection.
What If (2014)
By far Radcliffe’s warmest, fuzziest role came in this rom-com, which finds Radcliffe’s character Wallace falling in love with a girl named Chantry (Zoe Kazan). This part, like so many others in Radcliffe’s career, involved his bare butt—which was a little too much to handle for some fans who still remembered him as Harry Potter. But overall, the movie—and Radcliffe—were insistently adorable.Photo: By Caitlin Cronenberg/CBS Films/Everett Collection.
Swiss Army Man (2016)
Yes, the legendary “farting corpse movie.” This film co-starring Paul Dano was an immediate enigma for those who heard about it outside of Sundance: it inspired both standing ovations and walk-outs. But it’s visually enchanting, with a warm message that resonated with many viewers. Radcliffe plays Manny, a cheerful, naïve corpse whom Dano’s character Hank must teach to be human again. The two have great chemistry, and their adventure together is a gaseous odyssey for the ages.Photo: Courtesy of A24.
Now You See Me 2 (2016)
In Now You See Me 2, Radcliffe did a total 180 from the Potterverse by playing the skeptic within another franchise’s magical universe—a reversal that Radcliffe himself told Vanity Fair he hadn’t even thought about.
“The people I admire are always the people that manage to mix it up and do both: do super commercial stuff, and do super weird indies as well,” Radcliffe said. “And that’s kind of the career I want for myself.”
A highlight from that experience, Radcliffe added, was working with Michael Caine, whose achievements and reputation he called “the Everest of my own personal aspiration.”
Photo: Courtesy of Lionsgate.
Imperium (2016)
This upcoming thriller finds Radcliffe’s character, an F.B.I. agent named Nate Foster, seemingly in over his head as he attempts to infiltrate a white-supremacist group to stop them from making a bomb. The first trailer was pretty intense, and now fans can finally see whether Nate pulls off the undercover gig—or gets himself killed trying.Photo: Courtesy of Lionsgate.PreviousNext
The Woman in Black (2012)
This British period horror flick was Radcliffe’s first major outing post-Potter. Radcliffe starred as Arthur Kipps, a lawyer dealing with the loss of his wife who soon finds himself dealing with a supernatural threat—the titular woman in black. The movie made £14 million in its first three weeks at its home box office, a record U.K. opening for a British horror film.From CBS Films/Everett Collection.
A Young Doctor’s Notebook (2012-2013)
It’s not often you get to see Jon Hamm and Daniel Radcliffe hang out in a bathtub together, so if nothing else, A Young Doctor’s Notebook gave that to the world. Radcliffe played the titular young doctor to Hamm’s older doctor in this delightfully zany series, which was largely well received by critics and ran for two seasons.From AF Archive/Alamy.
Kill Your Darlings (2013)
In this period flick, Radcliffe took his first movie-length stab at an American accent, playing a younger version of the beloved beat poet Allen Ginsberg. Although his role entailed a much-discussed gay sex scene, Radcliffe said the hardest part was “hitting all those big emotional beats,” and crying when the script called for it.By Clay Enos/Sony Pictures/Everett Collection.
What If (2014)
By far Radcliffe’s warmest, fuzziest role came in this rom-com, which finds Radcliffe’s character Wallace falling in love with a girl named Chantry (Zoe Kazan). This part, like so many others in Radcliffe’s career, involved his bare butt—which was a little too much to handle for some fans who still remembered him as Harry Potter. But overall, the movie—and Radcliffe—were insistently adorable.By Caitlin Cronenberg/CBS Films/Everett Collection.
Horns (2014)
Horns wasn’t quite as earnest as The Woman in Black; it was a horror comedy that found Radcliffe suddenly growing horns after his girlfriend gets murdered. Radcliffe had shown off his comedic chops before—both in the Potter movies and in his guest appearance on the The Simpsons—but this was his first dedicated shot at a comedic role. His delivery wasn’t as charismatic as it would be in future movies like Now You See Me 2, but practice, as they say. . .By Doane Gregory/Dimension Films/Everett Collection.
Trainwreck (2015)
Radcliffe’s appearance in Amy Schumer’s blockbuster rom-com was brief but memorable. He appears in a black-and-white art film within the movie as a dog walker who gets very friendly with some of his clients. Radcliffe told BuzzFeed that Judd Apatow offered him the role backstage while he was still doing The Cripple of Inshmaan on Broadway. And that ridiculous belt of leashes he wears in the movie? That was Radcliffe's idea.From Abaca USA/AKM-GSI.
Victor Frankenstein (2015)
And then, back to horror Radcliffe went—in this sci-fi-infused romp co-starring James McAvoy. Radcliffe took on the role of Igor, a talented surgeon, while McAvoy tackled the film’s iconic titular role. Their collective star power might not have been enough to save the movie from bad reviews, but the film remains pretty much the only chance fans have at seeing Radcliffe with long hair.By Alex Bailey/20th Century Fox/Everett Collection.
Swiss Army Man (2016)
Yes, the legendary “farting corpse movie.” This film co-starring Paul Dano was an immediate enigma for those who heard about it outside of Sundance: it inspired both standing ovations and walk-outs. But it’s visually enchanting, with a warm message that resonated with many viewers. Radcliffe plays Manny, a cheerful, naïve corpse whom Dano’s character Hank must teach to be human again. The two have great chemistry, and their adventure together is a gaseous odyssey for the ages.Courtesy of A24.
Now You See Me 2 (2016)
In Now You See Me 2, Radcliffe did a total 180 from the Potterverse by playing the skeptic within another franchise’s magical universe—a reversal that Radcliffe himself told Vanity Fair he hadn’t even thought about.
“The people I admire are always the people that manage to mix it up and do both: do super commercial stuff, and do super weird indies as well,” Radcliffe said. “And that’s kind of the career I want for myself.”
A highlight from that experience, Radcliffe added, was working with Michael Caine, whose achievements and reputation he called “the Everest of my own personal aspiration.”
Courtesy of Lionsgate.
Imperium (2016)
This upcoming thriller finds Radcliffe’s character, an F.B.I. agent named Nate Foster, seemingly in over his head as he attempts to infiltrate a white-supremacist group to stop them from making a bomb. The first trailer was pretty intense, and now fans can finally see whether Nate pulls off the undercover gig—or gets himself killed trying.Courtesy of Lionsgate.
Yohana DestaYohana Desta is a Hollywood writer for VanityFair.com.
