The hype for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald cranked up another notch this weekend with the release of that amazing SDCC trailer.
Within it, we got a fresh look at Newt Scamander’s time at Hogwarts, more of Johnny Depp as the sinister Grindelwald and a better glimpse at the magical side of Paris. Aside from all that, though, Warner Bros. also treated us to a brand new poster for the film, which can be seen in the gallery down below.
Featuring the expansive cast of characters, it asks the question of “Who Will Change The Future?” I mean, we kind of know the answer to that, as we’ve read the Harry Potter books and seen the movies, but it’s nice that they’re humoring us in that there’s going to be a bit of mystery in this whole thing.
Regardless, it’s good to see familiar faces like Eddie Redmayne’s Newt Scamander, Dan Fogler’s Jacob Kowalski and Ezra Miller’s Credence Barebone alongside newcomers like Jude Law’s Dumbledore, Zoe Kravitz’s Leta LeStrange and the fan-pleasing appearance of Brontis Jodorowsky (son of cult filmmaker and modern alchemist Alejandro Jodorowsky) as Nicolas Flamel.
From what we can tell, it looks as if this sequel is going to push the Fantastic Beasts franchise into a darker direction than the first film, especially since our heroes will be battling Grindelwald and his fascist philosophy that Purebloods should rule over Muggles. Redmayne also mentioned that the villain is “rallying more and more people and it causes divisions across families. He’s pretty hypnotic.”
Personally, I enjoyed Fantastic Beast and Where To Find Them, primarily because seeing the American Wizarding World was such a novelty. But the sequel looks to be tying in much more closely to established Harry Potter lore, and hopefully the events within will re-contextualize and add shade to what we’ve already seen in the original movies and books.
