Potterheads rejoice! Warner Bros. has revealed the title, plot details, and a cast photo for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2 . And spoilers show that we’ll see the lead up to the famous final duel between Gellert Grindelwald and Albus Dumbledore.
The Fantastic Beasts sequel, which will premiere on Nov. 16, 2018, will be titled Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald .
According to the new Fantastic Beasts plot description , Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald will take place after the first Fantastic Beasts movie. Newt Scamander and MACUSA had captured Gellert Grindelwald, but Grindelwald escapes and starts recruiting followers for his true mission: having pure-blood wizards rise up and rule over all the non-magical beings.
Enter a young Albus Dumbledore. As Grindelwald rises to power in 1926, he and his former student Newt Scamander must work to defeat the dark wizard. And as the wizarding world becomes more and more divided, everyone must take a side.
“Lines are drawn as love and loyalty are tested, even among the truest friends and family, in an increasingly divided wizarding world,” the description says.
We even get some spoilers from the Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald character descriptions and cast photo. Yes, we see Eddie Redmayne, Dan Fogler, and Katherine Waterston back as Newt Scamander, Jacob Kowalski, and Tina Goldstein. But we also learn that Ezra Miller will be back as Credence, whose fate was left up in the air at the end of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them .
In one year, return to the Wizarding World with Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. #MagicInProgress #FantasticBeasts pic.twitter.com/8aWj8xhGj5
— Fantastic Beasts (@FantasticBeasts) November 16, 2017
And a slew of new characters will appear in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald . For example, Zoe Kravitz is playing Leta Lestrange. As fans remember, Newt Scamander was having trouble getting over Leta Lestrange during the first Fantastic Beasts film. In the sequel, though, she’ll be engaged to his brother Theseus Scamander, who will be played by Callum Turner.
But the best part of the new cast photo? We get our very first look at Jude Law as the young Albus Dumbledore. He’ll be facing off against Johnny Depp’s Gellert Grindelwald during Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald . And Grindelwald just so happens to be holding the Elder Wand in the new cast photo.
As Harry Potter fans know, Dumbledore and Grindelwald had a complicated relationship, to say the least. The two started off as friends and searched for the three Deathly Hallows together. They planned to take over the wizarding world and rule over the Muggles together. However, they and Albus’ brother Aberforth Dumbledore got into a fight and the Dumbledores’ sister Ariana wound up dead.
Grindelwald left and continued searching for the Deathly Hallows and eventually stole the Elder Wand, which helped him rise to power. By 1945, though, Dumbledore fought and defeated Grindelwald in a famous final duel. Grindelwald went to prison, but Voldemort later killed him so he could get the Elder Wand.
So Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald will likely show more of the backstory of Dumbledore and Grindelwald’s famous feud. It’ll take place after their initial confrontation that resulted in Ariana’s death, but before their final face off in 1945 and will show their rivalry heating up.
[Featured Image by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images]