Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore trailer offers Mads Mikkelsen’s Grindelwald declaring war on muggles; Eddie Redmayne starts with own squad

December 14, 2021 - 10:14 AM IST

The trailer of the latest addition in Harry Potter universe Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore has offered the very first look at Mads Mikkelsen’s dark wizard Grindelwald.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore trailer offers Mads Mikkelsen’s Grindelwald declaring war on muggles; Eddie Redmayne starts with own squad

The trailer sees Albus Dumbledore between a rock and a hard place. The beloved Hogwarts professor, portrayed in his younger days by Jude Law, can no longer sit idly by knowing that Gellert Grindelwald is moving to seize control of the wizarding world. But, as revealed in 2018’s Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Grindelwald and Dumbledore made a pact in their youth that prevents them from dueling each other. So he calls on Eddie Redmayne’s Magizoologist Newt Scamander and a team of intrepid magical beings to thwart Grindelwald’s growing legion of followers and prevent a looming wizarding world war.

In the initial footage for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,Dumbledore says, “The world as we know it is coming undone; Grindelwald is pulling it apart with hate. If we’re to defeat him, you’ll have to trust me.”

The trailer makes several nods to the original series, including the introduction of Dumbledore’s brother Aberforth, Quidditch sequences, Hogwarts house points (“Three points to Hufflepuff”) and the magical Room of Requirement.

Harry Potter veteran David Yates is returning to direct Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, the third entry in the fantastical prequel series that takes place decades before the happenings of Harry, Ron and Hermione.

The newest film is the first in which Mads Mikkelsenwill portray the infamous Grindelwald. Johnny Depp, who played the character in the first two installments, was asked by Warner Bros. to exit the franchise last year. His departure coincided with news that Depp had lost his libel case against a British tabloid that alleged he was a “wife beater.”

The cast also includes Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Dan Fogler and Jessica Williams. J.K. Rowling, who wrote the original book series, as well as the screenplays for 2016’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Themand The Crimes of Grindelwald, co-wrote The Secrets of Dumbledore with Steve Kloves, who worked on many of the original Harry Potter movies.

The Secrets of Dumbledore will open in theaters on April 15, 2022.