Cast and crew of the Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore have dished on both the new and returning creatures that will be appearing in the film.
The film’s producer, David Heyman, says that “some of the most significant characters in the wizarding world are the wonderous creatures”. He also announced that some of the old fan favorites will be returning to the film as well.
“After the Harry Potter films, I was desperate to make a film where we could just explore beautiful and mysterious magical creatures. I couldn’t be more excited to join them on their adventure.”
One returning creature that will be in Fantastic Beasts 3 is the niffler, who is now named ‘Teddy’. Eddie Redmayne, who plays Newt Scamander, says that Teddy “remains as Newt’s favorite creatures and also the bane of his life”. Pickett the bowtruckle will also be reappearing in the film, with Redmayne commenting that “both creatures sat into their roles as heroes in the film”.
The phoenix will now play a major role in the film after it was introduced in the original Harry Potter series, before returning in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Ezra Miller, who stars as Credence Barebone, emphasizes how the phoenix will be appearing in the film, saying that it cares for Barebone and will try to protect him.
Outside of the returning creatures, the cast and crew introduced two brand new ones that will either be friendly or hostile to Scamander and his friends.
The first new creature to be introduced is the wyvern, a bird-like, two-legged dragon with massive wings. The other creature that’s making its debut is a manticore, a crab-shrimp-like creature that is known to be dangerous.
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is the third installment of the Fantastic Beasts saga, serving as a prequel series to the main story of Harry Potter. Jude Law is playing the titular future headmaster, with Mads Mikkelsen taking on the role of Grindelwald following the ousting of Johnny Depp.
The Secrets of Dumbledore will come out in theaters on April 15.