For all its faults, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald biggest issue may be that shocker of a twist at the end of the film that has left Potterheads everywhere asking when their fandom jumped the shark.
SPOILERS AHEAD.
YEP.
SPOILERS COMING.
At the end of the second film in the new series, Gellert Grindelwald (played by Johnny Depp) tells Ezra Millers Credence Barebone that he is actually Albus Dumbledores brother, Aurelius.
And it turns out Ezra was just as shocked, stunned and confused as you were, admitting that he still has a lot of questions for which I have no answers.
The revelation made by Grindelwald has left fans of the wizarding world very confused, as there are several facts that seem to challenge this new claim such as the large age difference between Albus and Aurelius, and the fact that Albus mother died when he was 17 and his father was imprisoned in Azkaban the year before he went to Hogwarts at the age of 11.
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I was shocked, stunned, confused, petrificus totalus with wonder and fascination, said Ezra, and I still have a lot of questions for which I have no answers.
He found out about his characters family during press for the first film in 2016, and he admitted that on a very subtle level the knowledge changed his portrayal of his character.
This character is changing, going through physical changes in relation to the Obscurial, [with] which we know he has an unusual relationship. So as he changes, theres an opportunity for me as an actor to look to five of my favorite performances of all time — the people Ive seen play Albus and Aberforth, he told EW.
Shout out to all those incredible actors, and Im thrilled to play the game that were now blood relations. Its very fun. And theres a funny connection to the name Aurelius given one of the actors who played Dumbledore.
(Richard Harris who played Dumbledore in the first two films played Marcus Aurelius in Gladiator.)
As for whether Albus in Fantastic Beasts knows about his brother? Apparently only Jude Law knows the answer to that question, so hes the one to bug if you meet him.
Still, its unlikely he does as Albus has long been affected by the death of his younger sister Ariana who died when she was accidentally struck by a curse in a three-way duel between her brothers Albus and Abelforth, and Gellert – and with that weighing on his conscious why would he set in motion the plan in Crimes Of Grindelwald that would put his brother in danger?
So, could Grindelwald be lying about the family tree?
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Anything is possible but author JK Rowling is known for ending her stories on cliffhangers that are based in fact because otherwise readers and film fans would feel cheated.
One theory posits that Ariana was actually as Obscurial – a wizard or witch who developed a dark magical force as a result of their magic being suppressed through psychological or physical abuse – and that force has actually inhabited Credence (who knows he is an Obscurial)
Or perhaps Albus father conceived Aurelius at Azkaban, making them half-siblings.
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Regardless, Ezra reckons that fans should hold thei horses before getting too angry as Rowling knows the mythology so well and I think shes into confounding you for a moment and having a fan go, “wait that cant make sense!” and then showing you how things you thought couldnt make sense make sense.
I think she enjoys people not getting it for a second. Shes done it to us a bunch of times, he added.
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