Fantastic Beasts final trailer confirms a fan theory about Voldemort’s snake
By Rachel Roth
A fan theory about Lord Voldemort’s beloved pet snake is proven to be true in the new trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.
The final trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald was released this morning and it’s without a doubt the best one yet. We got to see more of Credence with the mysterious circus girl, more Grindelwald, this time in action, and more of Dumbledore battling his troublesome past.
It was announced way back in January that Dumbledore wouldn’t be explicitly gay in the Fantastic Beasts movies, much to the dismay of book fans, but in this recent trailer, we see him looking into the Mirror of Erised and sees a young Gellert Grindelwald looking back at him. Him and the image touch hands and look longingly into each other’s eyes, so…he’s not gay but the thing he wants most is his childhood best friend to be with him and hold his hand. Yeah, that sounds like two regular bros to me.
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Moving past Dumbledore and his issues, the trailer delivered some more exciting news that connects directly to the Harry Potter movies. A fan theory that has been circling the web for some time now has finally been confirmed, and if you’ve ever been a part of a fan theory you’ll know how exciting that is. It’s like that birthday wish you use on your candles every year comes true. The theory in question was about Lord Voldemort’s snake, Nagini.
With the first batch of promo pictures for the movie, fans were mystified by the appearance of newcomer Claudia Kim, who was said to be playing a circus performer. A lot of the mystery surrounding her was based on her apparent friendship or relationship with Credence Barebone. They were seated side by side in the pics promoting the movie and were seen together in the trailers.
Warner Bros. then revealed that Credence’s new friend was a Maledictus witch, a sorceress whose blood was cursed and is destined to transform into a creature forever. That detail alone made it obvious for some that she was not only destined to become a snake but was none other than Nagini herself.
Tom Riddle’s snake always seemed more human than animal; she spied on people, followed her master everywhere like a best friend, attacked people she thought to be a threat, told Voldemort secrets, and overall seemed like an extension of Voldemort himself. Nagini was a strange animal and had gotten a devoted fan base because of it.
In the trailer, Credence (my sweet Credence-please don’t turn to the dark side) whispers the name “Nagini” and actress Claudia Kim twists her body around in a way that would break almost everyone’s back and transforms into a large serpent.
There’s no mistaking her for the Nagini we first saw in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. They’re the same creature and I’m sure the Fantastic Beasts movies will explain just how she ended up in Voldemort’s hands.
As if the trailer wasn’t enough, Kim confirmed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that she was indeed Nagini and that she’ll be introduced as a member of the Circus Arcanus, where she’ll show off her transformations for Muggles, who think she’s just a circus performer. Kim said that we’ll see Nagini as she’s never been seen before:
"“In this, she’s a wonderful and vulnerable woman who wants to live. She wants to stay a human being and I think that’s a wonderful contrast to the character.”"
She also discussed her character’s friendship with Credence.
"“It’s amazing these two broken souls are able to form some kind of friendship within the circus,” Kim notes. “Credence is special to her because he encourages her to use her power.”"
Her role in the prequels will most likely revolve around Credence, who has been confirmed to have an important part to play in the building of Harry Potter’s timeline. Since Nagini is Voldemort’s snake and she’s friends with Credence, does this also confirm a connection between Voldemort and Credence?
There are many theories about Credence because let’s face it, there’s no way he wouldn’t be related to someone of extreme importance. An earlier trailer for the film showed the family tree to Credence Barebone where it revealed that Credence’s father was a wizard named Corvus Lestrange.
Corvus Lestrange fathered children by two different women. The first was named Laurena Kama, and she had a daughter named Leta Lestrange. Leta (who appears in the Fantastic Beasts movie played by Zoe Kravitz) is Newt Scamander’s former love interest and currently his future sister-in-law.
The second woman was Clarisse Tremblay who had a son named Corvus, after his father, but something must have happened to Clarisse because her son was adopted by MaryLou Barebone and renamed Credence. So, Credence is already confirmed to be a Lestrange and Leta’s half-brother, but given his power, his potential future alliance with Grindelwald and his friendship with Nagini, it’s possible he has another important bloodline going on from his mother’s side.
There were other fabulous moments in the trailer, including Newt’s older brother getting easily beaten up by Tina and a scene that possibly comes from the film’s climax showing the entire cast surrounding Grindelwald who stands in a circle of fire and what looks like Credence struggling to get down to him. Credence appears to be wanting to join the enemy but Nagini holds him back.
Does he want to join Grindelwald? Perhaps a part of him remembers and mourns their friendship, even though it was all fake, and wants to fight alongside him. And let’s not forget that poor Credence hasn’t had the best experiences with Muggles/No-Majs.
At about two-minutes and six-seconds in the trailer, we see the heroes standing on the bridge to Hogwarts, with Dumbledore and Credence missing. It can be suggested that Dumbledore is off fighting Grindelwald but where is Credence? Even Nagini is there on the bridge, right beside Newt. Whatever happens, this looks like it’s going to be a fun movie.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald will be released on Nov. 16, 2018.