Jude Law’s Albus Dumbledore returns with a hefty mission in the first trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, the third installation of the Harry Potter spin-off series hitting theaters April 15, 2022.
“The world as we know it is coming undone,” Dumbledore warns. “Grindelwald’s pulling it apart with hate.” The trailer finds the wizard advising magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) as he prepares to infiltrate the army of the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald. We’re introduced to Scamander’s team of allies made up of his indispensable assistant, a wizard descended from a very old family, a school teacher, and a muggle.
It’s the first look at Mads Mikkelsen’s Grindelwald after Johnny Depp, who portrayed the character in the first two films of the franchise, stepped away from the project after the emergence of domestic abuse allegations. Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Callum Turner, William Nadylam, Poppy Corby-Tuech, and Jessica Williams also star.
Director David Yates helms the film scripted by J.K. Rowling and Steve Kloves. Just ahead of the trailer’s release, Rowling once again found herself hitting send on a decidedly transphobic tweet. The author shared a report from U.K. publication The Times addressing news that Scotland police will acknowledge rape offenders who identify as female, writing: “War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength. The Penised Individual Who Raped You Is a Woman.”
Rowling is decidedly absent from recent Harry Potter-related celebrations, including the upcoming HBO Max retrospective special Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts, which reunites the full cast and director of the beloved franchise.