One of the more successful elements of the otherwise underwhelming Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald was the introduction of Jude Law as a young Albus Dumbledore. Potterheads loved Law’s portrayal of the future Hogwarts headmaster, though the decision to skate over the teenage love affair between Albus and Johnny Depp’s Gellert Grindelwald was met with a lot of controversy. Well, it seems the filmmakers will be looking to avoid a similar backlash in next year’s Fantastic Beasts 3.
According to our intel – which comes from the same sources who told us a Harry Potter TV series was in the works before that was announced – FB3 will go ahead and confirm Dumbledore’s feelings for Grindelwald. Crimes hinted at the attraction between the pair in their youth, with Albus refusing to face off against his former lover and also seeing a vision of him in the Mirror of Erised. But, as per what we’re hearing, Dumbledore will confront the dark wizard in the threequel and the truth about their past will come out when Albus tells him that he was in love with him.
J.K. Rowling confirmed Dumbledore was gay way back in 2007, but her decision to never actually explore this in the novels or in the movies has long been criticized. So having Dumbledore openly discuss his feelings for Grindelwald in this way could be a huge moment for the Wizarding World franchise and offer us the first crumb of LGBTQ representation in this universe.
Of course, the Grindelwald that Dumbledore could be about to bear his heart to won’t be the same one we saw last time. Following his legal troubles with ex-wife Amber Heard, Depp has been replaced in the role by Mads Mikkelsen. Mikkelsen has explained that he attempted to combine what Depp had established with the character in previous films with his own take on the villain in his performance.
We’ve still got a while to wait until Fantastic Beasts 3 – its proper title is yet to be revealed – hits theaters on July 15th, 2022.
