Trailer Talk: Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald
Trailer Talk is a monthly feature where two contributors have a conversation about a highly anticipated film based on its previews and excerpts.
Ram Charan: Did you see the latest teaser trailer for Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald, in which a young Dumbledore sports a blue vest and red tie?
Tejas Raghuram: Yeah I did, many times.
Kimia Faroughi: It was technically a teaser trailer not like an actual trailer trailer. But it’s still two minutes and reveals a lot of stuff about the new movie.
TR: Not really, it doesn’t reveal that much…
KF: There actually are a lot of hidden details.
TR: I guess you could say that, but they are just teases. There was not much in the way of actual story, but that is not a bad thing. This trailer did make me hyped for the release of the movie this November.
KF: Ok, let’s start with the opening shot. HOGWARTS!! AHHHH!!!
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TR: I loved the return to Hogwarts, as it brought back so many memories of the books and the previous movies.
KF: Exactly. Though, it is set in an earlier different time period where Dumbledore is the transfiguration teacher and not the headmaster of the school. This was even before Tom Riddle’s time at Hogwarts.
TR: I kind of want to see some more details of what the school was like back then, maybe a couple shots of Dumbledore teaching a class. That would definitely be pretty cool. I also would love to see a shot of a quidditch game, as that was one of my favorite parts of the Harry Potter movies.
KF: Speaking of Dumbledore… What did you guys think of Jude Law, at least in the trailer? I thought he was amazing in all the two seconds we saw him.
TR: Yeah, I really like the idea of him as young Dumbledore, and the two lines he does deliver are pretty good. However, I feel like I need to see more of him before I form a concrete opinion about his portrayal of the character.
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RC: I agree with Tejas. I thought that the costumes which he wore during the multiple scenes he was in were well chosen. Although the older Dumbledore only wears robes, the younger version of the character wears more stylish clothing such as the grey coat that he wears when he is talking to Newt Scamander.
KF: Yes, very stylish.
TR: Dumbledore was kind of known for being eccentric though, at least in the other books and movies. I feel like his costumes might not be on character for him. But I guess this is young Dumbledore, so I could be wrong.
KF: I hope that Jude Law’s portrayal of Dumbledore includes the aspects of the character from the original series such as his good-natured spirit, but also the enigmatic part of his personality. He was definitely a gray-area type of character in the original series, so hopeful we see how he got to that point in the Fantastic Beasts movies. His eventful friendship and battle with Grindelwald must play a part in this.
TR: That is definitely what I am looking forward to the most in this movie, as the battle of Dumbledore and Grindelwald is supposed to be one of the greatest battles in all of wizarding history. I just hope it will be one of the best in cinematic history.
RC: Aside from Dumbledore, what did you guys think about the return of characters such as Jacob, the No Maj baker who accompanies Newt on his journey to retrieve his creatures in the first movie, and Credence, the obscurial who seems very timid? Jacob stole the show whenever he stepped on screen; from his aspirations to become a baker, to his expressions of awe as Newt cares for his creature, everything about the character makes him a wonderful addition to the cast.
KF: The return of Credence is definitely one of the things I’m most looking forward to (a) because I love Ezra Miller but (b) because based on the last time we saw Credence, I presumed he was dead.
TR: Actually, at the end of the first film, you could see a bit of obscurial dust or whatever floating up into the air from the train station, so I am not surprised to see him return.
RC: In that same scene, there are some of Newt’s creatures, specifically the Thunderbird, helping him to erase the memory of muggles in the nearby city blocks. What did you think about some of the new creatures which were introduced? Perhaps one of the most innovative creations of the film was the underwater seaweed snake. This creature takes the Fantastic Beasts underwater, a realm that remains only slightly explored within the current bounds of the franchise.
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KF: I’m so glad you brought up Newt’s creatures. Those “fantastic beasts” were one of my favorite parts of the first film, and I hope we get to see some new ones. I own the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them illustrated book which gives descriptions and drawings of a lot of different creatures, many of which were included in the first movie. But there are still a lot left, at least out of the all the beasts in that book, so I’m excited to see the new ones they include in this film. I really hope they include the dragons, which, in my opinion, are literally the coolest out of all the beasts. By the way, the book is really awesome–you all should get it.
TR: Honestly, the only new creature revealed in the trailer was that seaweed-looking creature giving Newt a ride through a lake that you mentioned earlier, RC. As for the idea of dragons appearing in the film, I am all for that, however unlikely it may be. I am glad to see thestrals returning though, as they were an interesting idea that I would like to see more of in the upcoming film.
KF: The seaweed thing you are referring to is called a Kelpie I believe. I COMPLETELY agree with you on the thestrals. For those who do not know, they are these kind of skeletal horses that can fly. They are amazing navigators, and you can only see them if you have experienced death. They are my favorite creatures in the original series besides the Hungarian Horntail (dragon).
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RC: Aside from the animals of the Fantastic Beasts realm, there remain other important aspects of the film. With his name in the title, Grindelwald appears to have grown his hair as a confused Johnny Depp stares into the camera with different colored eyes. His beard has grown and his appearance is more disheveled than in the last film where his hair was combed back neatly. What did you think of the costume choice, and the inclusion of him acting confused as authoritative magical figures point wands accusingly at him?
TR: Yeah, I used to like Johnny Depp, especially in the first Pirates of the Caribbean flick, but since then he has kind of rubbed me the wrong way. I hope he doesn’t ruin the movie. In addition, I am not the biggest fan of the way he looks, but I am willing to give him a chance. I hope he cleans up in time for the release of the film. As for him looking confused, I don’t think that was a look of confusion.
KF: Grindelwald is supposed to look handsome and young. In the trailer, Johnny Depp looks like a 70-year-old man who took a bath in bleach. I hope Johnny Depp can portray Grindelwald’s personality more accurately than his looks suggest. Though we do not know much about him, in the original HP books we found out that he was pretty much an absolute god. He was extremely advanced in the dark arts and was an incredibly powerful wizard. He is one of my favorite villainous characters ever.
TR: I would say that is a bit of a stretch for me, as we barely got to know him in the books, and we never even saw him in the movies.
RC: Actually, I believe there is a short clip of Grindelwald jumping out of a window with the Elder Wand in the Deathly Hallows. This scene is brief but it does match the descriptions of Grindelwald in the book much better than the version of this character brought to life in this trailer.
KF: I see your point. I can get a bit carried away. O.K. guys, lets talk about some other new characters that we see in the trailer. First, we have Newt’s brother Theseus Scamander. He is an auror and is engaged to Leta Lestrange, who we find out in the first Fantastic Beasts movie is the woman who Newt is (or was) in love with.
TR: There is one shot in the trailer of Newt and Theseus working together on some kind of magical rift that promises to be a pretty cool scene, but I personally don’t think there is enough to go off of to make a judgement on his character though. The same is true for all the other new characters in the film: However, I am excited to see Newt’s back and forth with his brother, especially because of Leta Lestrange.
KF: We also have a woman named Maledictus with a blood curse that causes her to turn into a beast. Judging by the trailer, she will be the one displayed in the circus, along with Credence. Let’s talk about the actual plot of the movie now. From what we can gather from the teaser trailer, Newt and Dumbledore are working together to fight Grindelwald. Dumbledore has sent Newt to Paris, but we don’t exactly know why. We also know that we have some scenes in London.
TR: From this trailer alone, I can tell almost nothing about how the story progresses, other than the fact that Newt goes on a secret mission to Paris, Grindelwald escapes the carriage that he is being transported in, and Dumbledore is going to meet Grindelwald at some point.
KF: We also see Dumbledore telling Newt that the only one who can complete this (it is not explicitly said what “this” is but it obviously has to do with Grindelwald) is Newt himself. Now, this is what puzzles me. This movie is clearly about the Deathly Hallows, we know this from the original HP series where we learn that Grindelwald’s ultimate mission was to acquire all three of the Deathly Hallows to become the master of death and help wizards rise to power in the world. But we also know, from the original series, that Dumbledore is the one who defeated Grindelwald in the end and thus became the owner of the Elder Wand. So what’s going on? Does Grindelwald have the Elder Wand in this movie? We know that he eventually acquires it, but when? Will Newt become the owner of the Elder Wand? Why is Newt the only one that can defeat Grindelwald? Will the other two Deathly Hallows play a role in this movie? I guess we’ll have to find out.
RC: As we know from the original Harry Potter movies, the invisibility cloak is given down from James Potter to his son Harry. Although Dumbledore passes the cloak between James and Harry, this magical cloak seems to be passed down through Harry’s family. If we do see the invisibility cloak, will we also see any relatives of Harry who currently own the cloak?
KF: If you want to know the full story about the Deathly Hallows, HMU. We also know from the original that the resurrection stone was a family heirloom of the Gaunt family passed down through Gaunt’s ring, the ring of Marvolo Gaunt who is Tom Riddle’s grandfather on his mother’s side. Technically, since the three hallows started out with the Peverell brothers, Harry and Voldemort are related. JK Rowling has confirmed this by the way. So I guess there is no real mystery with the other two hallows.
TR: That is true, but I still think the mystery is in how the hallows themselves factor into the story as a whole. I have absolutely no idea about why they are going to be relevant. I kind of wish that they would be introduced in the next movie after this one, as their inclusion makes the plot of this movie feel a bit convoluted.
KF: Another part of the original series that needs to be addressed in this film is the fact that Dumbledore agreed with Grindelwald’s ideas about acquiring all the hallows and helping wizards rise above muggles “for the greater good.” In other words, take over the world. But the death of his sister did not allow him to leave with Grindelwald on this quest and also served as a turning point in terms of his beliefs. This is one of the most interesting parts of Dumbledore’s character so I’ll be sad if they don’t address it in this movie or at least in any upcoming films.
RC: We also need to address Dumbledore and Grindelwald’s relationship. J.K Rowling has stated previously that Dumbledore’s love interest is Grindelwald. Although he does not mention Grindelwald in the books and the movies, they were once friends, and now more than friends, who aspired to conquer the world with magic. However, This is revealed in Deathly Hallows in a Reeta Skeeter Biography after Dumbledore has been killed. What do you think about this relationship and how do you think Dumbledore will be different? Will his love for Grindelwald allow him to compromise his moral principles in a cliched manner or will he remain a strong believer in magical equality? Dumbledore has already changed very much in the way he has dressed and appears on screen; will his actions also be less strict and less rational during the course of this film?
TR: That remains a mystery to me, as J.K. Rowling has also stated that Dumbledore isn’t actually gay, leading to some accusations of queerbaiting. If Dumbledore does turn out to be gay, then that would be a huge step in the right direction for gay representation in cinema. It would also be a very interesting character dynamic between the two of them, one that I would really like to see explored.
KF: Either way, Dumbledore and Grindelwald are both epic and skillful wizards and extremely interesting characters. I can’t wait to see what happens between them. I would like to address one last thing. This was the most shocking part of the ENTIRE trailer. At the beginning, people just apparate onto the Hogwarts grounds. Um… what? In the original series, Hermione kept stressing the fact that people cannot apparate in and out of Hogwarts. What’s up with this whole apparition thing?
TR: Dumbledore could apparate in and out of Hogwarts. Also it would make sense that people from the Ministry could do it as well.
RC: Moving on… The lore of J.K Rowling has greatly been changed in many ways, but they relate to similar concepts. After a close-up of Grindelwald, The screen flashes and clouds part to form the Deathly Hallows symbol. What did you think of this quick allusion to the Deathly Hallows, and as we discussed earlier, do you think that this is a reference to the presence of the Elder Wand in the film?
KF: 100 percent. This reaffirms our ideas about the plot of the movie, showing that the Deathly Hallows play a central role in the film.
TR: Does it though? I don’t know. The plot seems so convoluted at this point. I need to see more footage of the movie before having any actual ideas about it.
RC: What do you think the next few trailers are going to look like and what elements may they tease of this sequel to Fantastic Beasts?
KF: Good question. I think the series is eventually going to end with Dumbledore’s and Grindelwald’s final battle, the one in which Dumbledore defeats him, becomes the possessor of the Elder Wand, and Grindelwald is locked in his own prison, Nurmengard. But hey, we still have three more movies to wait for after this one so who knows what will happen.
TR: Definitely need to see more story. I want an idea of how the film is going to be structured, and the roles each character is going to play in the story.
RC: What are you most excited about in the upcoming film? I am looking forward to meeting Credence and Jacob again: seeing how they have changed and what events have taken place since the first film to change them. I am also excited to see the new animals which were barely teased in this trailer. The inclusion of Hogwarts in this universe has allowed for J.K Rowling to return to her creative roots and perhaps give a new spin on this magical world of bizarre creatures.
TR: I want to see more of Dumbledore and Grindelwald, and less of Newt. Frankly, I could care less about what happens to Newt and all the other characters from the first movie, as none of them except Jacob was very memorable. My biggest regret for this franchise is that they are spending five movies developing this story. I wish that it was a trilogy that focused solely on Dumbledore and Grindelwald, without complicating things by adding any of the other characters from the first Fantastic Beasts movie.
KF: I definitely agree with you guys. Except for the thing you said about Newt and the other characters, TR. There’s a lot of things I’m excited for in this movie, but ultimately it comes down to once again being immersed in the universe we have grown to love and are fascinated with. I can’t emphasize this enough, I am just super excited to learn more about the wizarding world.
RC: On a scale of 1 to 10, how excited are you for the new movie? I personally rank this around an 8 to an 8.5. I am looking forward to the look of Credence and Jacob, and I hope that this movie will introduce and focus on more creatures.
TR: Probably an 8 out of 10 for me as well. This is no Infinity War, but I am still looking forward to it a lot.
KF: How dare you? This is a definite 10 out of 10. I don’t care what anyone says, I love the Harry Potter universe, nothing else makes me more excited in the world.
TR: Fair enough.