Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is a 2022 fantasy film directed by David Yates from a screenplay by J. K. Rowling and Steve Kloves, based on characters by Rowling. The sequel to Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018), it is the third and final instalment in the Fantastic Beasts film series and the eleventh overall in the Wizarding World franchise. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, Ezra Miller, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Callum Turner, Jessica Williams, Katherine Waterston, and Mads Mikkelsen. Set five years after the events of The Crimes of Grindelwald, it sees Albus Dumbledore tasking Newt Scamander and his allies with a mission that takes them into the heart of dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald's army.
The film was slated for release in November 2021, before it was pushed back to April 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Much of the main cast from the first two films confirmed their involvement in March 2020. Principal photography was set to begin in early 2020, but was postponed due to the pandemic, eventually commencing in September 2020. Johnny Depp returned as Grindelwald and filmed one scene for the film, but was asked to step down in November 2020 following the verdict of the Depp v News Group Newspapers Ltd court case; Mads Mikkelsen replaced him later that month. Filming wrapped in February 2021.
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore premiered at the Royal Festival Hall in London on March 29, 2022, and was released internationally on April 14 and in the United States on April 15, by Warner Bros. Pictures. It received mixed reviews from critics and grossed over $407 million worldwide, making it the lowest-grossing film of the Wizarding World franchise.
Plot
Albus Dumbledore confesses to Grindelwald that he supported his plans to destroy the Muggle world because he was in love with him.
In Kweilin, Newt Scamander helps a qilin — a magical creature with psychic abilities — give birth. Not long after, Credence apparates in, killing the mother and kidnapping the newborn. The qilin gave birth to another baby, which Newt rescues before joining Theseus. The brothers meet Albus in Hogsmeade, who reveals he cannot harm Grindelwald or vice versa due to their blood troth.
Grindelwald's acolytes arrive at Nurmengard and give him the newborn qilin. Intending to harness its precognitive abilities, he slits its throat as Queenie surreptitiously observes. Queenie visits Credence, who is struggling with the revelation that he is a Dumbledore. She relays Grindelwald's suggestion that Credence seek out and kill Albus for abandoning him.
Meanwhile, Jacob Kowalski encounters Ilvermorny Charms teacher Lally Hicks. They use a portkey to join Newt, Theseus, and Senegalese-French wizard Yusuf Kama. Newt relays Albus' plan to defeat Grindelwald. He gives a fake wand to Jacob, a red and gold tie to Theseus, and a book to Lally.
In Berlin, Anton Vogel, the outgoing Supreme Head of the International Confederation of Wizards (ICW), acquits Grindelwald of all criminal charges. This allows him to run in the elections for the Head of the ICW in a three-way competition against Vicência Santos and Liu Tao. The Head is traditionally selected by the qilin, which bows to someone pure of heart. Grindelwald overpowers and arrests Theseus. Albus apparates into Berlin and dispatches Newt to the Erkstag, the German prison where Theseus is held.
Credence hunts Albus and battles him in the streets of Berlin, but is quickly disarmed. Albus confirms to Credence that he is a Dumbledore, the son of his brother Aberforth, but assures him that they did not intentionally abandon him. Credence questions his loyalty to Grindelwald.
Jacob threatens Grindelwald with his wand to let Queenie go and is mistaken for an assassin. Lally casts a storm charm as a distraction and is able to activate the book portkey in time for her and Jacob to escape. Grindelwald reanimates the dead qilin and charms it to bow to him to influence the ICW election. He commands Credence to redeem himself by killing the surviving qilin.
Having rescued Theseus, the brothers escape with the red and gold tie, a portkey that transports them to Hogwarts, where they reconvene with Albus, Lally, and Jacob. Each carries an identical suitcase, with only one containing the qilin. They travel via portkey to the ICW vote in Bhutan. On arrival, they are confronted by Grindelwald's followers. Theseus, Lally, and Jacob are surrounded and have their suitcases taken, but when they are opened, they release Quidditch balls, angry books with fangs, and rapidly multiplying pastries.
Jacob convinces Queenie to come back to him from Grindelwald, but they are caught. At the election, the dead qilin that Grindelwald charmed bows to him, and he is elected as the new Head of the ICW, after which he immediately declares war on all Muggles and tortures Jacob with the Cruciatus curse.
Credence arrives and reveals that Grindelwald's qilin is dead. The surviving qilin is produced. It passes Grindelwald and bows to Albus. He thanks the qilin for the honour, but convinces it that there is another equally worthy. The qilin then bows to Santos, who is elected as the legitimate Head of the ICW.
Enraged, Grindelwald tries to kill Credence, who is simultaneously protected by Aberforth and Albus. While defending Credence, Albus and Grindelwald's clashing spells break the blood pact. They cannot bring themselves to attack one another at close range and a cornered Grindelwald disapparates.
Aberforth accepts the dying Credence as his son and takes him home. Back in New York City at Jacob's bakery, Jacob and Queenie have a small wedding ceremony. While preparing his speech, Newt steps outside as Tina arrives, and spots Albus watching from across the street. Dumbledore thanks Newt before disappearing into the night.
Cast
Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander:A British Ministry of Magic employee in the Beasts Division of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, as well as a self-proclaimed magizoologist. He played a part in remedying the events of a violent attack in New York City in December 1926 involving dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald. He is a confidant of Albus Dumbledore, despite being an outcast from certain circles of the British Wizarding Community due to his checkered past. Jude Law as Albus Dumbledore:An extremely powerful and influential wizard in the British Wizarding Community, known in the British Ministry of Magic and throughout the wider wizarding world for his academic brilliance, and teacher of Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He holds a blood pact with Grindelwald, with whom he was in love and had a close relationship with as a young adult, preventing them from duelling each other. Ezra Miller as Credence Barebone:The disturbed adopted child of Mary-Lou Barebone, who severely abused him and named him "Credence Barebone". Enraged by people's treatment of him, during the incident of 1926 he set his Obscurus parasite loose in New York City, causing widespread destruction. He survived in a tiny Obscurus fragment and was sought out by Grindelwald. He initially believed that he was Corvus Lestrange, Leta Lestrange's deceased half-brother. However, at the end of the second film, Grindelwald claimed that his real name is Aurelius Dumbledore and that his brother, Albus, would seek to kill him. In the third film, he is identified as being Albus's nephew rather than his brother, as he is actually the illegitimate son of Albus's brother Aberforth. Dan Fogler as Jacob Kowalski:An American No-Maj veteran of the First World War, owner of a bakery, friend of Newt, and lover of Queenie. When she returns, he later marries her and Newt serves as his best man. Alison Sudol as Queenie Goldstein:The pretty and vivacious renegade younger sister of Tina, who worked alongside her in the Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA). She is a powerful natural Legilimens. After being convinced that Grindelwald will make her dream of marrying Jacob come true, she went rogue and joined his side, eventually abandoning her lover and sister. She later returns to Jacob and they marry at his bakery. Her sister serves as maid of honour. William Nadylam as Yusuf Kama:A French wizard of Senegalese descent from an old Wizarding family and an ally of Newt, who previously attempted to kill Credence while falsely believing him to be his former stepfather's son, Corvus Lestrange V. Callum Turner as Theseus Scamander:Newt Scamander's older brother who is a dedicated and loyal Auror, as well as the Head of the Auror Office in the British Ministry of Magic. He is famous for the title "war hero" for his excellent show of bravery and generosity in the First World War. He constantly tries to tame Newt into more elegance so that he is better accepted in society. He lost his fiancée, Leta Lestrange, in September 1927, after she sacrificed herself at Grindelwald's rally in Père Lachaise, Paris to save the Scamander brothers. Jessica Williams as Eulalie "Lally" Hicks:A respected Charms teacher at America's Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Victoria Yeates as Bunty:Newt Scamander's indispensable Magizoology assistant. Fiona Glascott as Minerva McGonagall:A teacher at Hogwarts and Albus Dumbledore's colleague. Richard Coyle as Aberforth Dumbledore: Albus Dumbledore's younger brother, owner of the Hog's Head inn at Hogsmeade, and is the biological father of Credence. Oliver Masucci as Anton Vogel: The outgoing Supreme Leader of the International Confederation of Wizards (ICW) and Minister of Magic for Germany. Poppy Corby-Tuech as Vinda Rosier:Grindelwald's loyal right-hand follower. Katherine Waterston as Tina Goldstein:An American MACUSA Auror and currently Head of the Auror Office in MACUSA. She is Queenie Goldstein's sister and Newt's love interest. She played a role in thwarting Gellert Grindelwald during the Obscurus incident of 1926, for which she and Newt were initially blamed. Mads Mikkelsen as Gellert Grindelwald:An infamous powerful dark wizard who caused mass violence, terror and chaos around the globe, seeking to lead a new Wizarding World Order based on his strong belief in wizarding superiority. He had a close relationship with Dumbledore as a teenager. Mikkelsen replaces Johnny Depp, who played Grindelwald in the first two films, due to the latter's libel case with News Group Newspapers Ltd. over his alleged domestic abuse of his ex-wife, Amber Heard. The story does not acknowledge or explain the change in Grindelwald's appearance between films, which Mikkelsen described as a "deliberate" choice.
Other cast members include Maria Fernanda Cândido as Vicência Santos and Dave Wong as Liu Tao, both candidates for the post of Supreme Leader of the ICW; Aleksandr Kuznetsov as Helmut, an Auror of the German Ministry of Magic; and Valerie Pachner as Henrietta Fischer, secretary for the German Minister of Magic.