No one who has a creative stake in the Harry Potter universe has been shy about saying that Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will feature characters we know from those books and movies. The biggest, though, is Albus Dumbledore, and the director just confirmed when we’ll see him.
Speaking at the press junket, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them director David Yates confirmed that we’ll meet Dumbledore in the sequel:
In the second movie Dumbledore comes back. He’s got a couple of good scenes with Newt… We’re discussing who would play Dumbledore, any suggestions would be good. [Laughs]
This shouldn’t come as too much of a shock to anyone who has been following these films, which are set about 70 years before the events of the Harry Potter books. A few weeks back, Yates admitted that the relationship between Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald would factor into the films. Co-star Ezra Miller talked about it in a video too. And finally Johnny Depp was cast, most likely as Grindewald.
There was also a scene released where the film’s star Newt (played by Eddie Redmayne) mentions Dumbledore and the attacks in Europe, so it’s only fitting a sequel would start to link those stories. They also now have five movies of story to tell, which is a significant thing.
As for casting, we’ve already had two wonderful, older Dumbledores. Those are going to be some big shoes to fill.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them opens on November 17. Its sequel is due 16 November 2018.