Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is a 2022 epic fantasy film directed by David Yates from a screenplay by J. K. Rowling and Steve Kloves. The sequel to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018), it is the third instalment in the Fantastic Beasts film series and the eleventh overall in the Wizarding World franchise. Its cast includes Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, Ezra Miller, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Callum Turner, Jessica Williams, Katherine Waterston, and Mads Mikkelsen. Set several years after the events of its predecessor, the film sees Albus Dumbledore tasking Newt Scamander and his allies with a mission that takes them into the heart of dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald's army.
Always intended to be "at least" a trilogy, the third Fantastic Beasts film was slated for release in November 2021. It was eventually pushed back to a July 2022 release, and much of the main cast from the first two films confirmed their involvement in March 2021. Principal photography was set to begin in early 2020, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, eventually commencing in September 2020. Johnny Depp, who portrayed Grindelwald in previous films, initially was set to return and filmed one scene for the film, but in November 2021 was asked to resign following a court case finding against him regarding allegations he committed domestic violence; Mikkelsen replaced him later that month. Filming took place until February 2021.
The Secrets of Dumbledore premiered in London on 29 March 2022, and was theatrically released on 8 April 2022 in the United Kingdom and in the United States on 15 April. The film received mixed reviews from critics and has grossed over $401 million worldwide against a budget of $200 million, becoming the sixth highest-grossing film of 2022.
Plot[]
Albus Dumbledore takes a train to meet Gellert Grindelwald in a Muggle restaurant, where they argue about their past, how their goals used to be aligned, and the blood troth between them, ending with Grindelwald telling Dumbledore to stay out of his way and making it clear he intends to burn down the non-magic world, with or without Albus's help. Meanwhile in the jungles of Kweilin, at night time, Newton Scamander helps a Qilin, a magical creature that can see into one's soul as well as the future, give birth, but some of Grindelwald's disciples, led by Credence Barebone, attack and overpower Newt, kill the mother, and kidnap the newborn. Unbeknownst to them, the Qilin has birthed twins, the younger of which Newt is able to save after he wakes up. In Nurmengard, Grindelwald kills the Qilin to harness its ability of precognition after it doesn't bow to him. In the dead Qilin's blood's reflection, he sees Albus showing the blood pact to Theseus and Newt in the Hog's Head Inn.
Newt and Theseus head to Hog's Head Inn in order to question Dumbledore for the best course of action against Grindelwald. With Dumbledore still powerless to break the Blood Troth that prevents him from fighting Grindelwald, he reveals that he has plans to defeat Grindelwald and stop him from tearing the world apart with hatred, but they have to trust him. Eulalie Hicks recruits Jacob Kowalski, who is depressed with Queenie Goldstein having left him and his Kowalski Quality Baked Goods suffering from the Great Depression and initially wants nothing more to do with the wizarding world but eventually decides to help out. In the Great Wizarding Express heading for Berlin, Newt, Theseus, Bunty Broadacre, and Yusuf Kama greet the two and Newt then reveals that in order to thwart Grindelwald's future-seeing abilities, they will split up and perform different roles. He gives Theseus a tie with a large golden pin, Jacob a coreless wand, and Bunty instructions that will burn when she sees it as they set out to fulfil their roles.
Bunty has Newton Scamander's suitcase duplicated into half a dozen copies, while the rest go to Berlin in order to visit the German Ministry of Magic. Anton Vogel, the Supreme Mugwump and the Minister, refuses to help Newt and the others to stop Grindelwald for political reasons and they can only watch as Grindelwald is acquitted of all charges by the International Confederation of Wizards and can run for the position of the next Supreme Mugwump, with Theseus being captured. Reuniting with Dumbledore, he tells Newt where Theseus is imprisoned and assigns Eulalie and Jacob with the task of preventing assassination attempts on Grindelwald's competitors. Grindelwald, at Nurmengard, then has a vision Yusuf Kama going to Nurmengard, and Dumbledore going to Bhutan to confront him, with Vinda looking on. Next morning, Yusuf enters Nurmengard Castle and is promptly installed as a spy in Grindelwald's inner-circle, after Grindelwald removes Yusuf's memory of Leta's death.
Dumbledore walks across Berlin with Credence following him as Grindelwald has ordered him to kill Dumbledore. Aware of Credence's spying, Dumbledore quickly faces him and they fight due to Credence's anger about being abandoned. Dumbledore defeats Credence after a fierce fight, and it's revealed that he is not Albus's brother but rather his nephew as Aberforth's son. Meanwhile, in Berlin, Anton Vogel defends his stance on Grindelwald running as a candidate for the next Supreme Mugwump to other high-profile ICW members. Grindelwald is on the same street, driving a car with Vinda. He sees a vision of Jacob Kowalski pulling out his coreless wand to threaten him. Jacob and Eulalie are able to prevent the assassination of Vicência Santos but Jacob's reckless face-off with Grindelwald allows Grindelwald to frame him for attempting to kill Grindelwald and he and Lally barely escape, giving Grindelwald an incentive to turn the wizarding world against the muggle world. Queenie aids in their escape by launching a chair at Helmut and his henchmen to distract them, and buy Jacob more time to escape. Meanwhile Newt enters the Erkstag prison and successfully rescues his brother despite the Manticore and the guard attempting to stop them.
The group reunite at Hogwarts and go to the Hog's Head for dinner. As Grindelwald uses Necromancy in order to zombify the Qilin he killed, subsequently having a vision of another Qilin and getting angry at Credence, Dumbledore confronts his brother about his responsibilities to Credence and Newt learns the truth about Albus's past as Credence, disillusioned with Grindelwald, contacts them via a mirror asking to return home. Albus comes up with a plan to save everyone with Credence's help, and the next day, he tells the others that they must go to Bhutan to stop Grindelwald, as the election will be held there.
Travelling to Bhutan with a device provided by the Room of Requirement, they are able to defeat all of Grindelwald's disciples, with Yusuf revealing his true allegiance in process. Grindelwald uses the zombified Qilin to be announced as the Supreme Mugwump and immediately declares war on the Muggles, torturing Jacob for his attempts to assassinate him. However, Credence, Queenie, and Newt are able to expose him and Bunty reveals the true Qilin. It chooses Vicência after Dumbledore refuses to be the next Supreme Mugwump. His plans having been foiled, Grindelwald angrily attempts to kill Credence, but Albus and Aberforth save him. As he was protecting Credence rather than attacking Grindelwald in the clash, the blood pact finally breaks and Dumbledore immediately battles Grindelwald. The intense battle ends with their wands on each other's head and their hands on the other's heart, reaching a stalemate, and Grindelwald subsequently retreats.
The dying Credence is taken away by his father as the Phoenix mournfully follows them. In the aftermath of the election, Jacob and Queenie marry with most of the group and Tina attending. Dumbledore watches from a distance as he thanks Newt for all he's done before walking away alone.
Cast[]
- Jude Law as Albus Dumbledore
- Mads Mikkelsen as Gellert Grindelwald
- Eddie Redmayne as Newton "Newt" Scamander
- Katherine Waterston as Porpentina "Tina" Goldstein
- Poppy Corby-Tuech as Vinda Rosier
- Maja Bloom as Carrow
- Ezra Miller as Credence Barebone
- Paul Low-Hang as Zabini
- Alison Sudol as Queenie Goldstein
- Callum Turner as Theseus Scamander
- Richard Coyle as Aberforth Dumbledore
- Dan Fogler as Jacob Kowalski
- Jessica Williams as Eulalie "Lally" Hicks
- Wilf Scolding as Frank Doyle (Workman 1)
- Kazeem Tosin Amore as Workman 2
- Noor Dillan-Night as Workman 3
- William Nadylam as Yusuf Kama
- Victoria Yeates as Bunty Broadacre
- Manuel Klein as Tall Auror
- Aleksandr Kuznetsov as Helmut
- Oliver Masucci as Anton Vogel
- Valerie Pachner as Henrietta Fischer
- Ramona Kunze-Libnow as Edith (Elderly Matron)
- Dave Wong as Liu Tao
- Maria Fernanda Cândido as Vicência Santos
- Lucas Englander as Horst
- Fiona Glascott as Minerva McGonagall
- Jan Pohl as Ministry Official
- Matthias Brenner as Otto Eduard
- Peter Simonischek as Warder
- Jacqueline Boatswain as Ida Webb (British Witch)
- David Bertrand as Victor (French Minister)
- Stefan Race as Karl (Dark-Eyed Waiter)
- Jessica Cartledge as Redheaded Ravenclaw
- Rahda Sthanakiya as Tiny Witch 1 (as Radha Sthanakiya)
- Isabelle Coverdale as Tiny Witch 2
- Dónal Finn as Albert (Baker)
- Cara Mahoney as Waitress
Uncredited[]
- Jeremy Azis as German Muggle
- Hebe Beardsall as Ariana Dumbledore
- Paul Candelent as Gellert Grindelwald's bodyguard
- Evangeline Chitty as Slytherin Child
- Nick Davison as Pub Wizard
- Mike Evans as Dark Clad Auror/Gellert Grindelwald's supporter
- Winston Hayles as Spy Building Worker
- Emilia Karlsson as Ministry Guest
- Tianyi Kiy as Villager
- Johnny Li Gotti as French Ministry
- Eugene Lin as Tao's supporter
- Tony McCarthy as Magical Train Person
- Paul Parker as Anton Vogel's bodyguard
- Tony Pickering as British Ministry Employee
- Mimi Pitakworraratana as Tao Protester
- Phil Reeve as Grindelwald Supporter
- Chris Robb as Wizard
- Dan Robins as German Muggle
- Lucy Ross as Moving Painting
- Sam Shoubber as MACUSA Member
- Sean Talo as Ministry Wizard
- David Thrower as Grindelwald Supporter
- Nicola Tinacci as German Muggle
Production[]
Development[]
J. K. Rowling has commented on her Twitter account that she was done writing the script to Fantastic Beasts 3 on 10 December 2018. Upon reports that the film's release date was pushed from November 2020 to one year later, November 2021, comments from actor Eddie Redmayne at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2019 suggested that production was waiting on Rowling to finish working on the script.
Whereas J. K. Rowling was the sole writer for the first two films in the franchise, Steve Kloves, who served as screenwriter for all Harry Potter films except Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, served as a co-writer for Fantastic Beasts 3 with Rowling. The final credit was approved by the Writer's Guild of America in June 2021: screenplay by Rowling and Kloves, based on a screenplay by Rowling. On 22 September 2021, the title and new release date was revealed.
On 29 September 2021, it was announced that Ireland and Great Britain would be getting the film a week earlier, on 8 April 2022.
Plot information[]
Little bits of the plot were released over the years. J. K. Rowling has commented, via her Twitter account, that we will see the "true glory" of Ilvermorny Professor Eulalie Hicks (played by Jessica Williams, who was introduced in the preceding instalment) in Fantastic Beasts 3. It has been suggested by a series of other Tweets by Rowling that this film might be set, at least partially, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; in an interview in February 2019, actor Dan Fogler also mentioned the film being set in Brazil. Also from set pictures and other sources, the film will be set in multiple locations, such as Berlin, China, and Hogsmeade - Richard Coyle changed his location on his Twitter bio to 'Hogsmeade', and the Fantastic Beasts fansite mentioned one of the few locations is the 'Hogs Head Pub'.
When asked to describe the third Fantastic Beasts film in three words, J. K. Rowling said "Answers are given". Dan Fogler described the film as a set-up for World War II, suggesting that the film is set at some point before September 1939.
J. K. Rowling stated in an interview that she was using something from China in the next film, and she also stated that it has something to do with Chinese mythical creatures.
When asked about how Aurelius Dumbledore fits into the Dumbledore family tree by Empire Film Podcast, David Yates responds with "there's a very intricate, lovely beginning of FB3 that we discover a few things about the [Dumbledore] family."
In an interview with Score: The Podcast, James Newton Howard mentioned that "I think it's by far the best one, it's really good. Mads Mikkelsen is playing Grindelwald, he's so great, and it's just great. It's full of magic, and scary stuff, and romantic – it's just really fun." He also said he sent David Yates close to 2 hours of music with a couple notes.
Deadline reported on 7 October 2021 that "The David Yates-directed Fantastic Beasts threequel is due in April next year — and the BTS scenes shown in Spain included a quick glimpse of Mads Mikkelsen as Gellert Grindelwald. The story picks up in the 1930s, a little after the events of the previous film and will take place in such far-flung locales as Bhutan, Germany, the US, the UK and China. Evoked were new creatures, old favourites, more magic and even a peek back into Hogwarts."
The trailer for the film depicts Jacob Kowalski, a No-Maj, both being provided a wand and sitting at a table with students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This has resulted in a flurry of speculation, for two reasons. It has been established within the franchise that a wand is of no use to anyone who is not a wizard or witch. Secondly, Hogwarts is enchanted with a charm that normally prevents Muggles from even seeing it, though Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets establishes that Myrtle Warren's parents were invited to the castle, suggesting the enchantment is able to be lifted for specific individuals. A second trailer for the film depicts Gellert Grindelwald as announcing all-out war against the non-magic community. The trailer also depicts Dumbledore sitting down across from Grindelwald and telling him "What you're doing is madness," only for Grindelwald to reply that with or without him, he'll burn down their world.
Filming[]
Filming was set to begin on 16 March 2020 in London, but was postponed due to growing concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic. Filming commenced on 20 September 2020. In November, Johnny Depp announced that he agreed to step down from his role of Gellert Grindelwald when asked to by Warner Bros. after he lost a domestic-violence related libel lawsuit in the English court system. Warner Bros. then announced the role would be re-cast and that the film had once again been delayed, this time to summer 2022. A new date of 15 July 2022 announced the following day. A few weeks later, on 25 November 2020, Warner Bros. confirmed that Mads Mikkelsen (who'd been rumoured to have taken the role) would play the role of Grindelwald.
In January 2021, British actor Richard Coyle said in an Instagram Q&A that he had been cast in the film and had been working on in it since September. However, he also said he was not allowed to disclose any details. That May, the Fantastic Beasts Movie fansite reported from personal sources that he would be playing Aberforth Dumbledore but this has yet to be officially confirmed. However, he subsequently changed his Twitter location to "Hogsmeade".
On 11 February, German actor Oliver Masucci said in an interview that he'd been cast as the Head of the International Confederation of Wizards. Two days later on 13 February 2021, Bedfordshire Live reported that a Major new Warner Bros film was to be filmed in a village in Bedfordshire. Warner Bros sent out letters to residents of the village that filming would take place between 18 February and 5 March of a "feature film". Sometime after in February, James Newton Howard confirmed that filming had concluded and he started work on the score.
Later in May 2021, English actor Emilia Karlsson was added to the film's IMDb page as "Ministry Guest". A fluent German speaker, she is also credited as an on-set translator. Also in May 2021, Warner Bros. announced that Kevin Guthrie, who starred as Abernathy in the previous two films in the series had been fired from the project before production had started when he was charged for a sexual assault that happened in 2017. Due to the lack of official information on the film, it's unclear what will be done with the character.
In a July 2021 interview, David Yates told the University of Essex that "on the latest film he's taken out 3, 4, 5 lovely scenes that we nurtured and cherished and shot and edited, put visual effects in, and you suddenly you reach that moment where you realise the story survives without it, and can actually thrive without the scene, is actually probably better without the scene when you remove it and it's a process always of just trying to find the best version of the story possible." He also said that 15 July 2022 is still the planned global release date for the film. Later in the same week, the Portus fansite reported from a source that the film would be conducting its pre-planned reshoots the following month.
In September, Wilf Scolding was added to the film's IMDb page as "Workman". Later on in the month, Warner Bros. put out a press release announcing the film's title, synopsis, and new release dates of 8 April and 15 April.
Music[]
- Main article: Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (soundtrack)
- In an interview with Deadline, James Newton Howard revealed that he is returning to compose Fantastic Beasts 3.
- James Newton Howard has revealed in a interview that he has sent David Yates close to two hours of music for the film, with a whole bunch of notes.
- On 24 August, James Newton Howard started to do research on his old work and the directors notes from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
- The soundtrack for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore was recorded from 31 October to 29 November 2021 at the Abbey Road Studios. It took eight months and thirty-eight, three-hour sessions to complete, from the beginning to finish, with help by the works of many musicians, including some from the London Voices choir.
Release[]
This film was released worldwide on 15 April 2022, except in the UK, Ireland and Japan, where the film was released a week earlier.
In the UK, the film was opened at 714 locations and brought in £5.9 million in its first week, the third-highest behind Batman and Sing 2. However, in the US, the film was the most disappointing of the entire Harry Potter franchise so far, bringing in a paltry $43 million in its opening weekend. As of 9 May, the film has grossed $365 million at the box office, surpassing its $200 million estimated production budget, but there is little doubt for many that, despite having earned a combined $9,198,243,071 from all previous films, The Secrets of Dumbledore is unlikely to help them break the $10 billion barrier.
Marketing[]
- On 1 December, in Tokyo, Japan, Warner Bros. hosted a event that may screen or show something from the film.
- This event revealed the release date which is 8 April and title, is Fantastic Beasts and Dumbledore's Secret in Japan.
- In Japan, advanced tickets were able to be purchased on 17 December 2021, and purchasers got an exclusive "Fantastic clear folder" as a free gift.
- A teaser trailer was released on 10 December 2021 with a full trailer released on 13 December 2021.
- A second and final trailer was released 28 February 2022.
- The world premiere occurred on 29 March 2022.
Reception[]
Critical reception towards the film has been mixed, although it is considered to be an improvement over its poorly received predecessor. It has a score of 47% on Rotten Tomatoes, with the critical consensus of "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore avoids some of the pitfalls that plagued its predecessor, but lacks much of the magic that drew audiences into the Wizarding World many movies ago". It also has an average critic score of 47/100 on Metacritic, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Behind the scenes[]
- The film's set-production name is "Vermillion".
- The release date was brought forward on 22 September 2021, from 15 July 2022 to 15 April 2022.
- The Wizarding World franchise partnered with WatchMojo to release a YouTube video about the origins of Albus Dumbledore.
- The first teaser trailer was released on 10 December 2021. The first full trailer was released on 13 December 2021.
- A second full trailer was scheduled to be released on 24 February 2022, but its release was postponed due to world events. It was released on 28 February.
- This is the first film in the Fantastic Beasts series and the second in the Wizarding World franchise (with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2) that did not start with Hedwig’s theme.
- It is the first film of its series to not have its screenplay released at the same time as the film's release.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
Differences between the novel and the film[]
References[]
External links[]
v - e - d  | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|