Young Dumbledore debuts in first “Crimes of Grindelwald” trailer
Warner Bros. put a spell on Harry Potter fans Tuesday with the release of the first trailer for “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald”, as Variety puts it.
In the trailer, Eddie Redmayne returns as the charmingly clumsy Newt Scamander, while Jude Law makes his Wizarding World debut as a young Albus Dumbledore. It's teased that Scamander is acting under orders from Dumbledore to head to Paris, but as the future-Hogwarts headmaster notes, Scamander isn't one for taking orders well.
The David Yates film follows Dumbledore and Scamander, his former student, as they join forces to recapture an escaped Gellert Grindelwald, played by Johnny Depp, who is on a mission to dominate all non-magical people with the help of his pureblood wizard followers.
“I can't move against Grindelwald,” Dumbledore tells Scamander in the clip. “It has to be you.”
The trailer debuted amid casting controversy surrounding Depp, who was accused of domestic abuse by his ex-wife, Amber Heard, in court filings. JK Rowling, the Harry Potter author who wrote the screenplays for both “Fantastic Beasts” movies, has since defended the decision to cast Depp on Twitter, citing both Heard's and Depp's desires to move on.
“Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” marks Yates' fifth foray into the Wizarding World. He previously directed the last four movies in the original Harry Potter franchise, as well as the first “Fantastic Beasts” installment. His is set to direct the remaining three movies rounding out the “Fantastic Beasts” saga, with Rowling continuing on as a screenwriter.
“Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” hits theatres November 16.
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