Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them felt like a conscious effort on the part of J.K. Rowling to expand the Potterverse beyond Hogwarts and the United Kingdom. Setting the film in 1920s New York with a cast of completely new characters not directly linked to the original books and movies certainly achieved that. But now, with Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald hitting cinemas in November, we’re set to reverse some of that with a return to Hogwarts and a plot heavily featuring Jude Law’s take on a young(er) Dumbledore.
As seen in the trailer, we’ll witness the iconic character teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts and more specifically, instructing his students on the best way to defeat a Boggart. Warner Bros. recently released a featurette showcasing the cast, crew and J.K. Rowling professing their happiness at getting to return to Hogwarts, with Law outlining his feelings on joining an impressive pantheon of British character actors as a member of its staff.
“It was a slightly odd, out-of-body experience because I’ve watched with everyone else those [magic] classes. Suddenly to be in it, you’re in there doing it but then you look back on it as yourself and realize how special it was.”
While no Harry Potter fan’s going to turn their nose up at seeing more of Hogwarts, there’s the chance that delving into Potterverse nostalgia could come at the expense of exploring the unseen corners of the magical world. Fortunately, director David Yates has explained that this is going to be a whistle-stop visit, perhaps as a short flashback to a young Newt Scamander and a couple of scenes showing his return.
Whatever the case may be, with Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald recently being named the most anticipated movie this Fall, it seems audiences are hungry to plunge back into the iconic world that J.K. Rowling created and I, for one, can’t wait to check it out.