Warning: Spoilers for Fantastic Beasts 2: Crimes of Grindelwald below.
Fantastic Beasts 2: Crimes of Grindelwald ended on a huge plot twist, leaving fans clawing for more information about the extended Harry Potter universe and what, exactly, the reveal means for the future of the franchise.
Crimes of Grindelwald star Ezra Miller, who plays Credence Barebone, opened up to Entertainment Weekly about the flick’s gasp-inducing ending.
“I was shocked, stunned, confused, petrificus totalus with wonder and fascination. And I still have a lot of questions for which I have no answers,” the 26-year old Miller told EW.
Credence Barebone, the brooding orphan that both Fantastic Beast movies center around — in addition to Newt Scamander’s world of magical creatures, of which the movies are named for — spends the second installment searching for his birth mother, and in turn, his true lineage. Understanding that he is a powerful wizard with a strong bloodline, he seeks to find out his true identity at any cost.
He teams up with Nagini (Claudia Kim), finding her trapped in a dark and magical circus, freeing her and sealing their bond. Nagini, who we know from Harry Potter lore, will become Voldemort’s most trusted snake and eventual Horcrux defeated at the end of the Potter franchise.
In an action-packed brawl among wizards, both good and evil alike, Barebone leaves Nagini behind to join forces with the titular Grindelwald (Johnny Depp), who he believes can bring him closer to finding the truth about his origin. In the remote Nurmengard castle, Grindelwald calls Barebone by his true name, Aurelius Dumbledore.
This revelation, which author J.K. Rowling first brought to Miller’s attention in 2016 while promoting the first Fantastic Beasts film, has changed the way Miller portrayed Credence Barebone in the second film of the franchise.
“This character is changing, going through physical changes in relation to the Obscurial, [with] which we know he has an unusual relationship. So as he changes, there’s an opportunity for me as an actor to look to five of my favorite performances of all time — the people I’ve seen play Albus and Aberforth,” Miller told EW.
Fans speculate that Aurelius is the younger brother of famed wizard and beloved Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore (played by Jude Law in the Fantastic Beast films). Miller isn’t privy to that information himself, though he speculates that someone in the Fantastic Beast cast knows.
“We truly do not know. Jude knows. But he won’t tell you,” Miller mused to EW.
