J.K. Rowling is not the best friend of the LGBT community at the moment, having repeatedly faced accusations of transphobia over the last few months that have turned a huge number of fans against her. This is hardly a recent development, though, and the author has been coming under fire for years about the lack of representation seen in the Harry Potter books or their movie adaptations, only to regularly log onto social media and reveal all sorts of retroactive details including Albus Dumbledore’s sexual orientation.
Of course, there’s long been speculation that the simmering tension between Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald will factor into the Fantastic Beasts franchise somehow, although it would be safe to assume that the ‘intense sexual relationship’ described by Rowling will not play a major part in a whimsical family friendly blockbuster that’s set in the Wizarding World.
However, we’ve now heard from our sources – the same ones that told us Ben Affleck would be returning as Batman in The Flash weeks before it was officially confirmed – that the third installment is going to dive into the backstory of the friends-turned-lovers-turned-enemies, and flashbacks may even feature a kiss between the two incredibly powerful wizards.
Of course, with Mads Mikkelsen now circling the role of Grindelwald following Johnny Depp’s departure, Fantastic Beasts 3 is poised to acquire an actor who positively radiates a quiet sense of intense animal magnetism, as anyone that’s seen the dynamic between Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy in Hannibal can attest to. Jude Law already claimed that the world is ready for an openly gay Dumbledore as well, and unless the studio handles it with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer, it could make for a uniquely complex character arc over the next three movies.
