Ready to return to the world of Harry Potter? Warner Bros. certainly hopes you are, as it is finally rolling out the conclusion of the Fantastic Beasts trilogy (though two more movies may still be coming) that kicked off in 2016. The third film, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, is leaning hard into the Potter connections by bringing back Dumbledore and sending Newt Scamander and the rest of the team to Hogwarts itself, as seen in the new official trailer.
Much like he did in the original films/books, Dumbledore (Jude Law) acts as the wise (but not as old) guiding hand here as he entrusts Newt and his ragtag team with stopping the evil Gellert Grindelwald from taking over the wizarding world. The Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore trailer shows them traveling to Hogwarts and plenty of wizarding action, but there isn’t much of a hint that there is anything more to the plot than defeating the big bad guy in this one.
That big bad guy is being played by Mads Mikkelsen this time around, the third actor to portray Grindelwald. The role was supposed to stay with Johnny Depp after his surprise reveal of Colin Farrell turning into him at the end of the first film, but the actor’s issues caused Disney to boot him from the franchise and bring Mikkelsen in. We don’t get that long a look at the Mikkelsen in the role, but as always, he looks pretty evil.
Aside from Mikkelson and Law, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore sees nearly all the previous cast returning. Eddie Redmayne is back as Newt, Callum Turner returns as his brother, Victoria Yeates is Bunty, William Nadylam is Yusuf Kama, Jessica Williams is Professor Eulalie “Lally” Hicks, Dan Fogler is Jacob Kowalski, Alison Sudol is Queenie Goldstein, and Ezra Miller is Credence Barebone. David Yates, who has helmed the Potter franchise since Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, is returning again to direct.
The real question is if the movie can get folks back into Potter. The last movie underperformed and received a mixed reception from critics and fans. Is there enough here to pull audiences back into a franchise that not only had a sluggish second film but has also suffered delays thanks to the recasting, WB reworking it, and the pandemic?
