Dumbledore Confirmed for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Sequel

Albus Dumbledore has been confirmed to appear in the sequel to the upcoming Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them movie, Screenrant reports. Director David Yates spoke about the sequel at a Fantastic Beasts press junket. He also confirmed that protagonist Newt Scamander will be returning for the sequel.

Yates stated that "In the second movie Dumbledore comes back. He's got a couple of good scenes with Newt." Yates said that casting was still up in the air however. "We're discussing who would play Dumbledore, any suggestions would be good," he said with a laugh.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them takes place in the 1920s, so the Dumbledore appearing in the sequel will likely be a young man. The Dumbledore we see will also likely not be a man dedicated to fighting the forces of evil. Around this period, Dumbledore was in love with the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald and swept up in his plans for magical supremacy. It was when he fell out with Grindelwald that he changed to someone who resisted the idea of pureblood wizard dominance.

Johnny Depp was recently cast in the sequel and it's rumored that he may be playing Grindelwald. If so, the movies might give us a look at what Grindelwald and Dumbledore's relationship was during this era. The sequel has already been stated to "move deeper into an increasingly dark time for the wizarding world", which means we may see Grindelwald's rise to power.

I'd definitely be interested in learning more about that era of Dumbledore's life, though Johnny Depp being potentially involved dampens my enthusiasm significantly. What about you? Are you excited at the prospect of seeing young Dumbledore?

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