Exploring His Relationship With Dumbledore Could Add A New Layer To His Villainy
At this stage, Grindelwald is a relative nobody compared to Voldemort. He hasn’t accomplished much yet, therefore fans can’t take him too seriously as a worthwhile antagonist in the Fantastic Beasts series. Luckily, should those working on Fantastic Beasts 3 elect to give him some much-needed attention, there’s already an aspect of the narrative in place that can go a long way in boosting his villainous stock: his connection to Albus Dumbledore .
Two wizards that hold different ideologies but share a deeply rooted love that leads them to avoid any kind of confrontation “is a story rich with conflict, drama, and tragedy.” The previous two Fantastic Beasts films haven’t given their dynamic ample time to flourish, and as a consequence, the impact of Grindelwald’s genocidal plans get lost in translation. His evil choices surely hurt Dumbledore on a personal level, and showcasing that would pack a major emotional punch.
It’s no secret that, in execution, Voldemort is far scarier than Gellert Grindelwald. That’s not to say that with proper development, the latter couldn’t become the Hitlerian dark wizard he’s supposed to be.
Tom Riddle’s School Years Are A Tempting Plot Thread To Deal With
The Fantastic Beasts series starts in 1926, but the third movie is said to take place at some point before 1939. If that is the case, a young Tom Riddle could become a factor, as he starts his Hogwarts years in 1938. Riddle’s obsession with evading death is clearly related to his experiences in World War II, but the war with Grindelwald could have still influenced him in some way.
The Lestranges have always been involved with Voldemort’s Death Eaters, which is another plot thread the movie could handle. Eddie Redmayne has also shown interest in seeing Hagrid in the movies, so fans of the likable giant may get lucky in that regard.
How This Twist Makes Harry Potter Better
If Credence’s mother also gave birth to Merope Gaunt, it actually improves Harry Potter canon. The twist would require some artistic licence, and a stretch of the imagination, but that can be said about most of J.K. Rowling’s twists in The Crimes of Grindelwald . It would make Credence the half-brother of Dumbledore, and also the uncle of Voldemort. Dumbledore already knows how powerful Credence can be, and he’s had experience of obscurials with Ariana. One of the main reasons he wants Newt Scamander to catch Credence is for his own safety. In later years, Dumbledore wants to bring Tom Riddle to Hogwarts to refine and nurture his powerful magic he’s scared of what he’ll do otherwise. If it turns out he knows about Tom Riddle’s extended family, it makes even more sense that he would fear this eleven year old boy because he’s seen what he could become.
Not only does it explain more about why Dumbledore feared Tom Riddle so much, but it also gives some point and purpose to Credence. With such a big emphasis on him and the revelation about his Dumbledore heritage coming in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald‘s ending, it makes sense that Credence is actually the major player in the whole franchise. Fans know the duel is coming between Grindelwald and Dumbledore. Credence needs a purpose other than just being a Dumbledore sibling, and his connection to Voldemort is almost certainly it.
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Differences Between Book And Film
Nagini killing Snape in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Nagini was not protected by the magical orb, but instead by what appeared to be an invisible force field that deflected all spells cast at her. This allowed her to participate in the second stage of the battle, as opposed to dying before it began, where she attempted to strike Harry from the back while Voldemort duelled him from the front. Ultimately, she was fighting against Hermione and Ron, both of whom tried to stab her with a Basilisk fang, before Neville decapitated her. Upon her death, she vanished into black smoke, as opposed to simply dying and falling onto the ground in the novel. Why her body perished was not known, and she was the only Horcrux to disappear in such manner all the others did not disappear, but instead left behind fragmented pieces, except the Diadem when Ron kicked the remnants into the oncoming Fiendfyre. Also, Nagini was killed while Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort were duelling, when in the book, Neville Longbottom killed Nagini while Voldemort and his Death Eaters were standing outside the Entrance Hall. Furthermore, Voldemort’s and Snape’s final meeting occurs in the Boathouse in the film, as opposed to the Shrieking Shack in the novel, and thus Nagini murders Snape there instead of on her master’s orders.
Queenie’s Switch In Allegiances Desperately Needs To Be Addressed
One of the most likable characters in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Queenie changes a lot in the second movie. Her romance with the No-Maj baker Jacob Kowalski takes a turn for the worse. Following Rappaport’s Law, the American Ministry of Magic demands a total separation between the No-Maj community and wizards, banning marriages and even friendships. Queenie wishes for her and Jacob to get married, but Jacob is against it as he doesn’t want to get her in trouble. Angry at his refusal, Queenie places him under a love spell.
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Newt Scamander breaks the spell, and in her anger, Queenie leaves her friends and family behind. Gellert takes advantage of her emotional distress and persuades her to join his cause. Even in light of Gellert’s manipulations, Queenie’s decision seems utterly outlandish. It’s a waste of the character’s potential and desperately needs to be addressed.
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Nagini Was First Introduced In Goblet Of Fire
Although we met Lord Voldemort in Philosophers Stone, Nagini the snake did not appear until Goblet of Fire. In the book, Nagini was first introduced in The Riddle House, Goblet of Fires opening chapter, where she proceeded to eat the body of the poor, local Muggle, Frank Bryce. Lovely. Nagini seemed integral to Lord Voldemorts survival before he could be restored to his body, and we learnt, quite grotesquely, that Voldemort even tasked Wormtail to milk Nagini so he could live off her venom to keep his strength up. BFFs forever.
Nagini Assisted With Many Of Lord Voldemorts Murders
Lord Voldemort usually sent or possessed Nagini to do his bidding, and many key characters suffered by her. As mentioned, the snake very nearly killed Arthur Weasley, who had to spend Christmas at St Mungos Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, as Naginis venom kept his wounds from healing. She was certainly no ordinary snake.
While Arthur lived to tell the tale, others were not so lucky. Lord Voldemort callously fed Muggle Studies teacher Charity Burbage to Nagini after performing the Killing Curse. Sometimes Voldemort simply let Nagini do the dirty deed herself. The most famous example of this is Severus Snape. Rather than murdering Snape himself, Lord Voldemort unleashed Nagini on him, creating a truly gruesome death sentence. Quite telling that Lord Voldemort chose to not kill Snape personally…
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Dumbledore Defeated Grindelwald In A Legendary Duel
Grindelwald stole one of the Hallows, the Elder Wand, from the Eastern European wandmaker Mykew Gregorovitch.
From here, he dabbled more in the dark arts and rose to power. The details of his rise aren’t clear, but we do know that he killed a lot of people and established a prison, Nurmengard, for his enemies. He thought it was impregnable.
As Grindelwald became more infamous, Dumbledore faced him down. In 1945, in a duel for the ages, Dumbledore defeated him, leaving Grindelwald imprisoned in Nurmengard.
“In a list of Most Dangerous Dark Wizards of All Time, he would miss out on the top spot only because You-Know-Who arrived, a generation later, to steal his crown,” Rita Skeeter wrote. Voldemort might also be the more powerful wizard. He’s the only known person who ever broke into Nurmengard.
Audiences Have No Reason To Care About Grindelwald’s Motives
With two Fantastic Beasts films under his belt, Gellert Grindelwald will feature in the next franchise film more than ever before. However, if those behind the franchise want to push him into the same league of scariness as Voldemort, they have to pick up the slack, and they have to do it quick. As noted by Screen Rant, the next Fantastic Beasts film needs to give viewers an actual narrative reason to fear Grindelwald. Simply labeling him as the bad guy, and expecting everyone to just go with it, isn’t enough to get him to “He Who Must Not Be Named” status. As of right now, we are totally comfortable naming Grindelwald.
The Screen Rant article also notes that Voldemort was an effective antagonist because his reputation preceded him. His reign of terror during the First Wizarding War solidified his place as a legitimate threat, and thus his constant background presence throughout the Harry Potter movies building to his eventual return gave fans reason to be concerned. We would also add that Voldemort’s very real threat is present right from the beginning in the orphaned Harry’s pitiable state, with a reminder of the Dark Lord’s attempted infanticide stamped right there on our protagonist’s head.
As far as Grindelwald goes, he “is a schemer still trying to rise in power, so when Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald begins with a prison escape, the audience doesn’t feel apprehension or worry.” Basically, why should we care about this guy?
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Voldemort Is Openly Evil & Controls Through Fear
First of all, it should be noted that Voldemort being a rather one-dimensional villain isn’t necessarily a great black mark against the original Harry Potter series. In those books and films, the emphasis was on the heroes and their relationships, struggles, and triumphs, and Voldemort primarily existed as a force for them to work against. In many of the books he either popped up only at the end, or only in some oblique form , or even not at all . We did eventually learn Voldemort’s backstory – that he was the son of an exiled witch from a fallen pure-blood family, and that his father was a haughty muggle who was tricked into marriage through use of a love potion. However, by all accounts it seemed as though Tom Riddle was “evil” from a very early age, frightening and tormenting his fellow orphans in the orphanage where he was raised.
Voldemort was never really shown to be a particularly skilled manipulator of people, instead choosing to exert control through fear – to the point that wizards and witches were terrified to even speak his name . He never offered any pretense of having a noble cause or having the wizarding world’s wellbeing in his best interests. His followers were made up of pure-blood witches and wizards who feared him almost as much as everyone else, and during his second rise to power most of them returned to his side out of fear rather than loyalty.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald Trailer Released
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The Harry Potter films saw Lord Voldemort as the big bad dark wizard, but now in Fantastic Beasts its Gellert Grindelwalds turn.
Fans will remember from the seventh Harry Potter book and last couple of movies that he was the evil force in the wizarding world long before Tom Riddle.
Played by Johnny Depp in the Fantastic Beasts films, the fifth and final outing set for release in November 2024 will depict when Dumbledore won the Elder Wand from him in a duel at the end of the Second World War.
And according to Fantastic Beasts 2 director Yates, Grindelwald is very different to Voldemort.
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Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone
Professor QuirrellHarry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
Voldemort makes his debut in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. In this story, Rowling introduces him as the Dark Lord who tried to kill Harry Potter because the boy was prophesied to destroy him. Voldemort murdered Harry’s parents, James and Lily, but as a result of his mother’s love and willingness to sacrifice herself for him, baby Harry survived when Voldemort tried to murder him with a Killing Curse. Voldemort was disembodied, and Harry was left with a mysterious, lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead as a result.
In the book, Voldemort unsuccessfully tries to regain his dissolved body by stealing the titular Philosopher’s Stone. To achieve his objective, Voldemort uses Professor Quirrell’s aid by latching onto the back of the latter’s head. However, at the climax of the book, Harry manages to prevent Voldemort from stealing the stone.
Grindelwald Played A Major Part In The Harry Potter Series
In the “Harry Potter” series, which takes place decades after “Fantastic Beasts,” Grindelwald plays a big role and helped shape the course of world events in the 20th century. He was Albus Dumbledore’s closest friend before turning into a Hitler-like figure who threw the magical world into turmoil in an attempt to dominate non-magical folk.
Grindelwald’s first mention in the “Harry Potter” series is inconspicuous. He’s simply a name dropped on Albus Dumbledore’s chocolate frog card in “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”: “Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the Dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945.”
It’s not until several books later in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” that he plays a bigger role. As Voldemort searches for The Elder Wand, which he believes will make him invincible, he traces its path to Grindelwald. Voldemort finds Grindelwald in Nurmengard, a prison Grindelwald built during his rise to power and was locked in after his fall. But he finds out that Grindelwald doesn’t have the wand anymore, and kills him.
Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger learn about Grindelwald by accident.
Later, Harry and the crew find out Grindelwald’s sign is that of the Deathly Hallows a trio of objects consisting of the Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone, and the Cloak of Invisibility. If a wizard or witch were to possess all three Hallows, they were said to be the Master of Death.
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Voldemort Actor Ralph Fiennes Open To Returning As Harry Potter Villain In ‘fantastic Beasts’
Harry Potter fans said goodbye to Voldemort on screen in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 in 2011, yet the creation of the Fantastic Beasts franchise has allowed audiences new opportunities to revisit familiar characters. With the timeframe of the Fantastic Beasts series, we won’t expect to see characters like the teen-aged wizards, but the inclusion of Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall has led fans to wonder who else might return to the franchise. The trajectory of Tom Riddle and his evolution into Voldemort might not see the appearance of the adult version of the villain, though actor Ralph Fiennes isn’t ruling out the return.
During an appearance on Newsnight , the actor was asked if he could possibly return, with Fiennes noting, “Well, there are variants, aren’t there? Fantastic Beasts and things.”
Voldemort’s demise in the last Harry Potter film understandably caused complications with the idea of Fiennes returning, yet his multiple portrayals as the character has secured a soft spot in the performer’s heart. The actor added, “I feel a kind of affection for Voldemort. So if there was a world in which Voldemort came back, I would be very possessive about wanting to reprise that.”
While Fiennes may have grown quite possessive over the character, he also recently revealed that he didn’t immediately connect with the Dark Lord. In fact, the actor nearly turned down the opportunity when he was initially presented to him.
Who Is Older Voldemort Or Dumbledore
I know that Dumbledore is really old, and is quite a bit older than Voldemort, and that Hagrid is about the same age as Voldy, but Hagrid always seems to be about 35-45 age range, while Voldemort seems to be a lot older. Also, was the war going on when the marauders were in school, or did it start just after they left.
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So What Does That Mean For The Series
The most obvious implication for the rest of the Fantastic Beasts series is thematic. J.K. Rowling loves parallelism, so if the Dumbledore connection is true, then shes likely setting up a bunch of parallels between Credence/Aurelius and Harry himself.
Theyre both orphans, both raised by abusive guardians who were extremely paranoid of witches. Both grew up completely separated from the wizarding world, yet both eventually discovered themselves to belong to extremely prominent magical families with hugely important roles to play in the ongoing struggle between light and dark wizards. Both are extremely powerful wizards in their own right and crucially, both seem to have been scoped out and targeted by dark wizards wanting to exploit them for their own agendas.
Of course, the way their parallel origin stories play out has been quite different for each of them thus far. Credence has been alternately courted and cast aside by Grindelwald, depending on how useful he appears to be. Harry was initially marked for death by Voldemort, and apart from a few moments of tempting him, that pretty much never changed.
However, given that the previously established canonical timeline seems to be rapidly derailing and speeding up, theres just no telling where well land. Only one thing seems certain: What we know of the wizarding world will probably be very different by the end of Fantastic Beasts than when the franchise began.
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