Did you enjoy Jude Law’s performance as a young(er) Albus Dumbledore in the last Wizarding World movie, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald? You did? Then you’re in luck – because he’s very much at the centre of our latest look at its follow-up, The Secrets Of Dumbledore. The third film in the Potter prequel saga is, of course, in part named after the legendary Hogwarts headmaster – though, if you remember the last film, there are multiple Dumbledores at play here. But it marks a curious shift in the story: where the past two films revolved predominantly around Eddie Redmayne’s Newt Scamander, it looks like he might be playing a more supporting role in this one. Check out the new, very Dumbledore-centric, trailer:
Not only does this trailer open on a shot of Michael Gambon’s Dumbledore from the Potter movies (at a glance, it seems to be taken from Half-Blood Prince), but it’s narrated by Law’s Dumbledore too – setting up the legendary wizard’s next showdown with Grindelwald (this time played by Mads Mikkelsen), his face-off with Ezra Miller’s possible-relative Credence (or is it Aurelius?), and gathering his ‘first army’ (a nice nod to Dumbledore’s Army from Order Of The Phoenix). As for the central quartet introduced in the first Fantastic Beasts film, there’s still a smattering of Newt here, and a good dollop of No-Maj baker Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) who now has a wand, but once again not a single glimpse of Katherine Waterston’s Tina Goldstein, and just one shot of her sister Queenie (Alison Sudol) who last time turned to the dark side.
There’s plenty of good stuff here, though – Jessica Williams brings some laughs as incoming Ilvermorny teacher Lally Hicks, enticing shots of wizarding duels, and some actual beast-centric action with a large scorpcon-esque creature. All that, and a climactic shot of a phoenix hammers home the previous film’s cliffhanger, which should get those invested in this world rushing to the cinema for answers: is Credence really Aurelius Dumbledore, and if so how does he fit into Albus’ previously-established family tree? Most importantly, we see a shot of adorable Bowtruckle Pickett riding on the back of the Niffler (now officially named Teddy).
The Secrets Of Dumbledore is once again written by JK Rowling, this time with Potter-adapter Steve Kloves co-writing, and directed by David Yates. We’ll be here for more Pickett-Teddy adventures when Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore hits UK cinemas on 8 April.