Brazilian wizarding community and Credence: Everything to know about Fantastic Beasts 3

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald was all about setting up the third installment of the franchise, the currently untitled Fantastic Beasts 3. Here’s everything we know about it so far.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald was released November 16 to mixed reviews and a disappointing box office weekend. It’s both the lowest rated and lowest grossing film within the Harry Potter franchise.

The over-complicated plot stuffed with too many storylines made it feel like Infinity War without proper pacing, but the purpose of overlapping multiple plots at once was to quickly set up the third film. Shame they couldn’t make a movie strong enough to stand on its own and set up a sequel at the same time, but it’s clear they’re rushing to get somewhere.

Personally, I liked the film, but it’s easy to see where others would find extreme fault. I’m just physically, mentally, and emotionally incapable of disliking anything about the wizarding world of J.K. Rowling.

Fantastic Beasts 3 is being kept under wraps but Rowling is already working on the script and the film has a working title that apparently only Jude Law knows. He slipped the scoop to Eddie Redmayne by accident though, so really only two actors know. Why Law knows the title and no one else is unknown but it can be assumed that the third installment will focus on Dumbledore and the title involves his character.

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It’s only been a few days since The Crimes of Grindelwald was released but its twist ending already has fans, some at least, scrambling to find answers. Following the first film’s success, Rowling announced that the franchise would include five films to detail the defeat of Gellert Grindelwald and set up the world where Tom Riddle/Lord Voldemort rises to power.

Keep in mind that Tom Riddle was born December 31, 1926, meaning he’s already born in the Fantastic Beasts timeline. While Newt and the others were running around Paris, baby Riddle was crying in his crib at Wool’s Orphanage in London. By the time we get to the final film, Riddle will be about 18 years old.

Now with that in mind, let’s take a look at what we can look forward to for Fantastic Beast 3. Warning this contains spoilers for The Crimes of Grindelwald if you haven’t seen it.

Old and new characters

All the main cast members are confirmed to return; Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander, Katherine Waterston as Tina Goldstein, Dan Fogler as Jacob Kowalski, Alison Sudol as Queenie Goldstein, Ezra Miller as Credence Barebone, Johnny Depp as Gellert Grindelwald and Jude Law as Albus Dumbledore. Theseus Scamander (Callum Turner) has yet to be confirmed but it’s likely that he’ll return.

Credence’s role in the story has been confirmed to grow over the course of the franchise, appearing in all three remaining sequels, meaning he won’t disappear anytime soon and may even become an important factor in defeating Grindelwald.

Nagini (Claudia Kim) and Nicholas Flamel (Brontis Jodorowsky) are two characters introduced in Fantastic Beasts who live on in the Harry Potter films. Though never seen, Flamel is mentioned in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone as the creator of the stone able to give a person eternal life. Flamel only has a brief role in The Crimes of Grindelwald but it can be assumed that he’ll appear at least one more time. Seems odd to introduce a historically important Harry Potter figure without purpose.

Lord Voldemort’s beloved snake companion, Nagini is a human now, but she’ll ultimately end up one of Voldemort’s horcruxes. As a snake, Nagini seems to have retained some part of her human mind because she understands people and carries out multiple tasks for her master in the original series. I’m sure Fantastic Beasts will show how she ends up in Voldemort’s hands.

The final film will be set in 1945, the year Tom Riddle leaves Hogwarts. If Nagini remains a prominent figure in the series, it’s likely the two will meet as people before she turns into a snake permanently.

One new cast member has been announced, Jessica Williams as Professor Eulalie “Lally” Hicks at the Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This means we might get the chance to see the American school or at least hear more about it.

Credence heritage twist

Let’s talk about the ending to Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald for a moment. The birth parents of Credence Barebone was a topic of interest for most of the film: Who is Credence? Where did he come from? What powerful wizarding family does he hail from? In the end they finally gave us the answer but it might not be the right one.

At the end of the film, Grindelwald revealed that Credence is a Dumbledore, Aurelius Dumbledore to be exact and Albus’s brother. This revelation was shocking, but honestly it doesn’t make sense. Gellert Grindelwald’s reign of terror is a major historical event in the wizarding world, but there is never any mention of a third Dumbledore brother being involved in the battle. Not to mention that the Dumbledore’s were either dead or in Azkaban during the time of Credence’s birth, so unless momma Dumbledore had an affair, he can’t be Albus’s brother. Also, this revelation tastes like a reused Luke Skywalker plot. Cue Darth Vader voice, “Credence, I am your brother.”

J.K. Rowling probably wasn’t counting on writing these prequels while writing “Harry Potter”, but I’m sure she wouldn’t knowingly create a plot hole this big without a reason. That’s why Credence probably isn’t a Dumbledore.

Grindelwald believes Credence is the only person alive who can kill Albus and knows he would need some strong motivation to do it. This is a boy who has been abused his whole life, stripped of his identity and chased out of both the muggle and wizarding world; he’s in pain and is angry. Grindelwald wants to direct this anger at Hogwart’s future headmaster. Poor Credence is once again being manipulated.

Now, let’s get into a strange theory that’s been spreading around. Credence is an obscurus as was Dumbledore’s sister Ariana. Both survived longer than usual, Ariana lived to see 14 and Credence has lived beyond that age. The theory is that Ariana’s obscurus somehow transferred bodies and is inside Credence. If this is true it would explain why Credence doesn’t go down in history: he’s not a Dumbledore, only possessed by one.

In the end, Credence’s heritage is still a mystery. It’s unlikely that he’s a muggle or an average wizard though because he’d have to extremely powerful in order to contain an obscurus. I read one hilarious theory that suggested Credence was Grindelwald’s son. He does seem a little too invested in him than your usual prodigy, a bit too touchy-feely, but I doubt he’s Grindelwald’s offspring.

Grindelwald and the Dumbledores

In the Potterverse, Grindelwald’s story ended at the fortress of Nurmengard in Austria where he was imprisoned following his legendary duel with Albus Dumbledore in 1945. He remained in the fortress until slain by Voldemort in 1998 during the latter’s quest for the Elder Wand.

That pretty much reveals where a large portion of the fifth and final film will take place, in a fortress in Austria. But before that time comes, there is still a lot about this character that needs to be discussed.

Rowling is a big fan of giving her characters detailed backstories. Voldemort got an incredible backstory in “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”, that the film pretty much cut out. But Grindelwald’s history has yet to be explored. Besides the fact that he attended Durmstrang, had a relationship with Dumbledore, and was involved in the death of Ariana Dumbledore, we don’t know a lot about him.

The Crimes of Grindelwald gave a glimpse of the connection the dark wizard once had with Dumbledore, revealing they made a blood pact never to fight each other in a ritual that seemed like a marriage proposal. The next film will likely go even further into their relationship. Jude Law teased the more intimate part of their bond, hinting that the film might explore their history as lovers. When speaking to New York Times, Law said that the world is ready for a gay Dumbledore, “and if it isn’t, it bloody well should be.” He could mean in general that the world should be ready, or he could be referencing the sequel.

If Toby Regbo and Jamie Campbell Bower appear on the cast list than we’ll know for sure that young Dumbledore and Grindelwald will reappear. Perhaps we’ll even see Aberforth Dumbledore who was introduced in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 as Albus’s younger brother.

If this happens, Fantastic Beasts 3 just might very well tell the full story of the ominous Ariana Dumbledore that we’ve heard so much about. She is undoubtedly paralleled to Credence; they’re too similar for the series to ignore. Ariana is going to come up one way or another.

Newt and Tina

Lovebirds Tina Goldstein and Newt Scamander faced conflict from a misunderstanding in the sequel, but it’s been guaranteed that whatever issues they face will be resolved because they eventually get married.

In 2001, J.K. Rowling released the pretend guidebook “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” written by Newt Scamander. In the “About the author” section, it says Newt is retired and “lives in Dorset with his wife Porpentina.” This resolves any questions about how Newt and Tina’s love-story will end. At least that’s one thing we don’t have to worry about.

Where is it set?

The Fantastic Beasts franchise likes to travel around, and the third film will continue the global expanse. The first film occurred in America, and the second largely took place in Paris. The third will be set in another country that’s been kept secret, but Rowling’s Twitter account possibly revealed the location to be Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It just so happens that Rowling created a wizarding school located in Brazil, the school Castelobruxo. It’s deep in the rainforest and is protected by Caipora, small and furry spirit-beings.

Rowling has written about wizarding communities and schools all over the world, including Japan and Africa, so there are plenty of locations available for the series to travel beyond number three.

The third film will most likely be set in the 1930s. The franchise’s timeline takes place between 1926 to 1945. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them took place in 1926 and The Crimes of Grindelwald is set a year after. There will be three more films and they still got 18 years to cover, so number three will definitely have a time jump. This gives a good couple of years for Queenie and Credence to be poisoned by Grindelwald’s silver tongue.

Production for Fantastic Beasts 3 will start in the summer of 2019, and the film is currently scheduled for a November 20, 2020 release date.