Brace yourselves because the next instalment in the Wizarding World franchise (aka Harry Potter) is coming way sooner than any of us thought. Yes. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore is hitting theatres (or… whatever the pandemic equivalent of theatres is) on April 7, 2022.
WARNING: This post contains spoilers for the 2018 film Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.
In a shocking announcement on Wednesday, Warner Bros revealed that the film has been brought forward to April, instead of the July release date we had all marked in our calendars. And honestly? All things considered, we could be in the middle of an alien invasion come July next year, so the sooner the better.
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore picks up where the 2018 film The Crimes of Grindelwald left off, which means we’ll be seeing more of Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander. And considering the title, we will likely see Jude Law reprise his role as a young Albus Dumbledore, however, this is yet to be confirmed.
The last film left us on a wild cliffhanger by revealing that Credence Barebone – who is working with Grindelwald – is actually Albus Dumbledore’s long lost brother Aurelius. Sure, this doesn’t fit the original Harry Potter storyline, but who cares? Not me.
This cliffhanger gives us a lot to work with for the third instalment. Either, Dumbledore always knew he had a secret brother, or perhaps his parents never told him and he’s as shocked as we are. OR Aurelius isn’t really his brother at all and this is some sort of trick (which means The Crimes of Grindelwald didn’t completely invalidate the original storyline).
Like the other two instalments in the franchise, The Secrets of Dumbledore will be written by controversial Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling and directed by David Yates.
While we can expect many of the cast members to reprise their roles in the upcoming film, it was announced last year that Johnny Depp will not be returning to his role as Grindelwald after the domestic violence allegations and subsequent legal issues he has faced since the release of The Crimes of Grindelwald. Instead, Grindelwald will be played by Mads Mikkelsen.
It’s also worth noting that Eddie Redmayne has similarly faced criticism for playing a trans woman in The Danish Girl. However, he has since apologised for this and condemned Rowling’s comments in a lengthy statement provided to Variety last year.
“Respect for transgender people remains a cultural imperative, and over the years I have been trying to constantly educate myself,” Redmayne said in a statement provided to Variety. “This is an ongoing process.”
“As someone who has worked with both J.K. Rowling and members of the trans community, I wanted to make it absolutely clear where I stand,” he continued. “I disagree with Jo’s comments. Trans women are women, trans men are men and non-binary identities are valid. I would never want to speak on behalf of the community but I do know that my dear transgender friends and colleagues are tired of this constant questioning of their identities, which all too often results in violence and abuse. They simply want to live their lives peacefully, and it’s time to let them do so.”
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore hits theatres on April 7, 2022.
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