In the 10 years since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was published JK Rowling has continued to embellish the Wizarding World. Among the new character backstories, details of international wizard schools and more, one piece of information made a huge impression on fans: Dumbledore is gay, and his ‘friendship’ with good-wizard-gone-bad Gellert Grindelwald was more than just platonic.
Despite Dumbledore’s personal life being expanded through the Pottermore website, it seems Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald won’t directly address the Hogwarts headmaster’s sexuality. The film will introduce Jude Law as a young(er) Albus, with Johnny Depp returning as wizard-supremacist baddie Grindelwald.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, director David Yates said Fantastic Beasts 2 won’t “explicitly” reference Dumbledore’s same-sex relationship with Grindelwald. “I think all the fans are aware of that,” he said. “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.”
With the Fantastic Beasts series currently planned to span five films, there’s a chance that Dumbledore’s sexuality may come into play in the remaining three movies. The series is thought to be leading up to the climactic duel which — spoiler — sees Dumbledore defeat Grindelwald in 1945. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald will apparate into UK cinemas on November 16.
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