Video: So far, the trailers for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald haven’t so much actually shown us, well, the crimes of Grindelwald, as they have the ephemera surrounding them. This final trailer doesn’t just give us a better look at Newt Scamander’s new adventure (and those crimes), but a very weird Potter connection.
Released last night, the trailer gives us a bit more of Newt’s new quest on Dumbledore’s behalf, taking him to the fantastical side of Paris as the would-be creature collector finds himself thrust into the dark underbelly of Wizard society, while Grindelwald fights for wizards to come out of hiding and use their power to rule the world.
Oh, and apparently — as confirmed by Entertainment Weekly — Claudia Kim’s shapeshifting snake character is none other than Nagini, Voldemort’s future companion/Horcrux!?
That’s a hell of a weird connection to throw in there, Fantastic Beasts.
J.K. Rowling has specified Nagini is not an Animagus but a Maledictus.
Not an Animagus. A Maledictus. Big difference. https://t.co/JwVVNnvVQU
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) September 25, 2018
Also, the EW article linked above says Nagini “has powers like wizards have. And she doesn’t have a wand,” and is part of a travelling circus:
“It will be so interesting to see another side of Nagini,” Kim tells EW. “You’ve only seen her as a Horcrux. In this, she’s a wonderful and vulnerable woman who wants to live. She wants to stay a human being and I think that’s a wonderful contrast to the character.”
The actress reveals that when Crimes takes place in 1927, Nagini can transform from human to snake at will, yet due to her mysterious blood curse she knows that eventually, she’ll become a snake permanently. “She does feel sometimes it’s not controllable,” Kim says. “She is bound to [permanently] transform at some point to a beast so she feels this pressure that the clock is ticking.”
Beyond that intriguing connection though, there isn’t a lot new in here, aside from a fun bit where Newt gets to magically apprehend his brother Theseus, to his own delight — but you’ll find out what it all means when Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald apparates into cinemas November 15.