Jude Law as Dumbledore in the new Fantastic Beasts trailer (Photo: Twitter)
JK Rowling may have confirmed Professor Dumbledore’s sexuality, yet the wizard has so far never been portrayed as gay on film.
That is, until now, if the trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is anything to go by.
In newly released scenes, we see Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) gazing into what appears to be the Mirror of Erised. His reflection reveals Gillert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) hovering behind him.
Rowling confirmed in 2007 that the fictional headmaster of Hogwarts is gay, and that ‘his love for Grindelwald was his “great tragedy”‘.
Dumbledore’s desires revealed in Mirror of Erised
Anyone else gasp when they saw the Mirror of Erised? We finally discover what Dumbledore sees in the Mirror, and it’s definitely not a pair of thick, woollen socks. At least, not at this point. pic.twitter.com/z83lu4VuJT
— Pottermore (@pottermore) 22 July 2018
Even the most casual of Harry Potter fans are surely aware of this magical mirror’s power. In the series’ first book, 1997’s The Philosopher’s Stone, Harry stumbles upon the mirror at Hogwarts. The mirror reveals his greatest desire, showing him standing between his long-dead parents.
Dumbledore tells Harry that when he looks into it he sees ‘myself holding a pair of thick, woollen socks’. The trailer reveals what he actually sees as his greatest desire, or at least what he saw as a much younger man.
Dumbledore’s voiceover at that very moment in the trailer is also telling: ‘I can’t move against Grindelwald’.
The plot of the movie, set in the 1920s, concerns Dumbledore recruiting our protagonist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) to aid in the fight against dark wizard Grindwelwald.
It would appear that the history between the two characters prevents Dumbledore from leading the fight.
Director David Yates recently stated that Dumbledore’s sexuality would not be featured ‘explicitly’ in the new film. He did, however, reiterate the importance of Dumbledore’s relationship with Grindelwald.
‘He had a very intense relationship with Grindelwald when they were young men. They fell in love with each other’s ideas, and ideology and each other.’
Jude Law: ‘There’s more to come’
Jude Law further elaborated on the depiction of Dumbledore’s sexuality last week. The actor hinted that there may be more of Dumbledore’s sexuality revealed onscreen in future Fantastic Beasts instalments.
He said: ‘What you got to remember this is only the second Fantastic Beasts film in a series. You’re just getting to know Albus in this film, and there’s obviously a lot more to come.
‘We learn a little about his past in the beginning of this film, and characters and their relationships will unfold naturally which I’m excited to reveal. But we’re not going to reveal everything all at once.’
It has been confirmed that Dumbledore and Grindelwald do not actually share any scenes in the forthcoming sequel.
‘In many ways that suits the relationship as it’s been many years since they’ve seen each other’, said Law. ‘So there’s complexity in that that’s fun to mine. Again, the past will reveal itself.’
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is due for release 16th November 2018.
Check out the newly released trailer below.
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