When the world was last given a glimpse into Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, it was through a trailer that promised wizarding war, among other things. A lot of familiar locations, faces, and concepts from the overall Wizarding World found themselves popping up in the film’s first look. Now, with a second trailer freshly released, you can see way more Mads Mikkelsen's take on Grindelwald. Plus, the return of McGonagall!
As the promotional motors warm up for the April release of the third prequel to the Harry Potter series, it looks like The Secrets of Dumbledore is going to be one of the most action-packed installments in the burgeoning franchise. That's the perfect time to bring back another old friend of Jude Law’s Dumbledore, through the appearance of Professor Minerva McGonagall. You can see Fiona Glascott once again portraying the version of the character contemporary to Law’s incarnation in the screenshot below, as she shows up to deliver what must be grave news to Albus' open ears:
We’re not just being shown gloom and doom in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. The previous trailer introduced us all to the concept of everyone's favorite Muggle, Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler), getting in on the action with his own wand! Now that we’ve seen Jacob actually wielding magical powers, it does look like he’s got some work to do on his spellcraft. Though if we were to guess, the moment where Jacob giggles after having a cocktail may explain just where these newfound powers come from. So maybe Jacob won’t have to practice too much.
Indeed, the Fantastic Beasts saga looks to not only keep itself valid in the eyes of Potter purists, it’s also looking to make up for what some have deemed a lackluster sequel. Although the Secrets of Dumbledore subtitle does keep the large choices made at the end of the previous entry firmly in focus. With Ezra Miller’s Credence Barebones/Aurelius Dumbledore and Richard Coyle confirmed to indeed be playing Aberforth Dumbledore, the fate of magic just might rest on a family feud.
As always, we can thank the trials and tribulations of the Wizarding World to Mads Mikkelsen's Grindelwald, who we get a much better look at in this new footage. Charismatic and dangerous as ever, you can see why people would flock to his cause; even if you know what he's doing is absolutely wrong. We should definitely know that fact, considering that previous film's title kind of spelled it out.
Between seeing Mikkelsen in action, as well as looking at him on the film's new poster, it's hard not to think that maybe he should have been cast in this role in the first place. Warning fans that his portrayal wouldn't be a mere copy of Johnny Depp's take, that promise has been fulfilled and then some. Take a look at the new one-sheet for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, and try to argue that Mads Mikkelsen, or anyone in this impressive cast, looks out of place:
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore apparates into a theater near you on April 15th. Whether you believe in magic or not, there’s a wide array of movies slated to debut as part of the 2022 movie releases in the year to come. Though it does not do to dwell on the past, thinking towards the future is a rather wondrous thing to indulge in. If the past is what you want, at the time of this writing you can catch all of the Harry Potter movies, including both previous Fantastic Beasts entries, on HBO Max.
