Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, the sequel of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018), is set to hit the theatres on 8 April in the UK, 14 April in Singapore and on 15 April in the US and worldwide. It is the third instalment of the film series by Warner Bros. Pictures, the first being Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them (2016).
Based on the best-selling Harry Potter book series, written by JK Rowling, that explores the world of witchcraft and wizardry along with magical creatures, the fantasy movie is adapted from a screenplay written by Rowling and Steve Kloves.
Everything we know about ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore’
After several delays owing to the pandemic and the recast of the character Gellert Grindelwald, the official Twitter handle of Fantastic Beasts had announced the final release date (2022) of the film on 22 September, 2021.
#FantasticBeasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore in theaters April 15, 2022. pic.twitter.com/l27HbuwW9f
— Fantastic Beasts (@FantasticBeasts) September 22, 2021
As a prequel to all the Harry Potter films, the movie franchise is set around the 1920s through to 1945 (and beyond). It focuses more on Dumbledore’s youth and becoming the renowned Hogwarts Headmaster eventually.
Some characters, which often find a mention in the seven books and eight movies, can be seen in the Fantastic Beasts trilogy. Additionally the book Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them finds a mention in the previous books and series, as authored by Newt Scamander. Written by Rowling, it is available in the market for the ‘potterheads.’
The plot of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
Warner Bros. released an official synopsis of the film that explains: “Professor Albus Dumbledore knows the powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald is moving to seize control of the wizarding world. Unable to stop him alone, he entrusts Magizoologist Newt Scamander to lead an intrepid team of wizards, witches and one brave Muggle baker on a dangerous mission, where they encounter old and new beasts and clash with Grindelwald’s growing legion of followers. But with the stakes so high, how long can Dumbledore remain on the sidelines?”
But since the title is The Secrets of Dumbledore, we can expect Albus Dumbledore, essayed by Jude Law, to be seen a lot more in this film.
The cast
The protagonists of the series — Eddie Redmayne Magizoologist Newt Scamander, Katherine Waterston as half-blood witch Tina Goldstein, Dan Fogler as muggle Jacob Kowalski (No Maj) and Alison Sudol as Queenie Goldstein — are all returning for the third time.
While Albus Dumbledore, Credence Barebone/Aurelius Dumbledore and Theseus Scamander is being essayed again by Jude Law, Ezra Miller and Callum Turner respectively, Johnny Depp who played the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald in the first two films, has been replaced by Mads Mikkelsen.
Other major cast members include Poppy Corby Tuech, returning as Vinda Rosier, Victoria Yeates as Newt’s assistant Bunty and Jessica Williams as Eulalie Hicks, an Ilvermorny charms professor.
It will also be interesting to see how Yusuf Kama, essayed by William Nadylam, takes after his half-sister Leta Lestrange’s legacy, after her death in the The Crimes of Grindelwald.
Some of the new characters that are a part of the movie include Liu Tao (Dave Wong), Vicência Santos (Maria Fernanda Cândido) and Edith (Ramona Kunze-Libnow). While Albus’ brother Aberforth Dumbledore is being played by Richard Coyle, Aleksandr Kuznetsov is to be seen as an Auror named Helmu.
Trailers and behind-the-scenes
Through two trailers, a movie clip and a behind-the-scenes video, Warner Bros. has given glimpses of what to expect in The Secrets of Dumbledore.
In the first trailer, released in December 2021, we saw Dumbledore warning Newt about how “the world as we know it is coming undone”. He is seen alarmed about Grindelwald who ”is pulling it apart with hate”. Watch it here:
The second trailer, shared in March 2022, showed added magical action and glimpses of the showdown between Dumbledore and his biggest opponent, Grindelwald. Watch it here:
Interestingly, again in March, a tiny clip of the movie was released online, where we saw Newt, Jacob, Dumbledore and the intrepid team entering the Room of Requirement. More so, a two-minute behind-the-scenes video presented the key cast and crew explaining what they feel about ‘working’ at Hogwarts.
Are there more Harry Potter spin offs planned?
2022 seems to be a year ‘Potterheads’ can look forward to as it is filled with documentaries, films, gameplay and more. Some of the highlights include:
The highly anticipated Hogwarts Legacy, a gameplay spin off of the Harry Potter films, is set to release this year. Set in the 1800s, gamers will get a chance to play as a new fifth-year student who has just arrived at the famous school.
Even the documentary, Fantastic Beasts: A Natural History, that is due to release, sees Stephen Fry exploring our continued fascination with the world of magical creatures.
To know more about the other events, click here.
Who is directing the series?
The ‘Potter’ staple David Yates, who has been directing the Harry Potter/ Fantastic Beasts movies since Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), continues being the director of The Secrets of Dumbledore.
While he has exclusively directed the ‘Wizarding World’ movies, Yates was also roped in as a director for The Legend of Tarzan, released in 2016.
The movie is produced by David Heyman, J K Rowling, Steve Kloves, Tim Lewis and Lionel Wigram.
Neil Blair, Danny Cohen, Josh Berger, Courtenay Valenti and Michael Sharp serve as executive producers.
Its music is composed by James Newton Howard, a nine-time Oscar nominee, who is known for the notable soundtracks for films Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald and The Hunger Games.
Final release
On 22 September, 2021, Warner Bros. announced that the third movie of the Fantastic Beasts series will premiere on 8 April in the UK and on 15 April in the US and worldwide, after many delays.
Earlier on 29 March, The Secrets of Dumbledore had a World premiere at the Royal Festival Hall in London. Take a look at some of the highlights as shared by Warner Bros. on its YouTube channel recently:
Meanwhile, the studio has also shared that it would be discontinuing its hybrid release strategy with HBO Max. The hybrid strategy entailed all Warner Bros. 2021 films getting released in the theatres and on the streaming platform, simultaneously. Going forward, all of its 2022 movies will hit the theatres exclusively before it premieres on digital or streaming services.
(Hero and Featured Image Credit: © Warner Bros. Pictures/IMDb)
