New Posters AND Trailer for Fantastic Beasts: Secrets of Dumbledore

“I did my waiting! Twelve years of it, in Azkaban!”

Fans have waited long enough, with the movie being delayed a few years and a postponement in the release of the second trailer. Well, muggles, today is the day; we finally get a new poster and a brand spanking new trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.

Check out the trailer and poster below!

There are a couple of moments that stick out to me in this trailer. I’ll start with the big one: J.K. Rowling has her name credited in the middle of the trailer again! You might remember that her name was microscopically seen at the very end of the first trailer. This caused a backlash because her supporters were still upset about her cancellation, and rightfully so.

Second, John Williams’ “Hedwig’s Theme,” which has become the Wizarding World’s theme song, plays throughout the trailer.

Third, if you’ve been paying attention to the previously released trailer and posters, you’ll notice that there is a very important character missing! This person is still missing in the newly released trailer and poster. Where is Tina Goldstein? Is she on some side mission to try to bring Queenie back? We know the actress has been confirmed to be in the film.

There is also another character who is missing: the Maledictus, Nagini. We last saw her on the bridge at Hogwarts with the rest of Dumbledore’s friends at the end of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Will she appear in this film? Perhaps she is not needed and will appear in the fourth and fifth films.

Trailer Breakdown

First, a reminder that the film will mostly take place in Brazil, so keep that in mind!

The trailer opens with a scenic shot of Hogwarts while Michael Gambon’s Albus Dumbledore talks about memory. The scene transforms from Gambon’s Dumbledore to Jude Law’s Dumbledore and a young Minerva McGonagall talking about news of Grindelwald and his followers. We get another scenic shot, this time of Nurmengard, which we know holds the future Grindelwald as prisoner in the Potter books and films. This is where Lord Voldemort murders Gellert Grindelwald.

We see Credence (or, rather, Aurelius Dumbledore) with a phoenix, presumably Fawkes. The scene changes, and we see Grindelwald talking to his followers. I’m pleased with Mikkelsen’s look as Grindelwald. His physical appearance is more normal, just how I pictured him in the Harry Potter books. I will wait to judge him further until I’ve seen the film.

Jacob Kowalski seems to have left Newt and the others after Queenie joined Grindelwald, as he insists that he “wanted out” when Lally (Charms Professor Eulalie Hicks, from Ilvermony School) tries to recruit him. We previously saw Lally in Nicholas Flamel’s book in the second film. Personally, I’m excited to see this character. It will be interesting to see an American professor interact with Hogwarts professors and former students.

We already know that Jacob receives a wand from Dumbledore; we see that again.

At one minute in on the dot, we get a “baddie” shot. We see Grindelwald front and center, we see Vinda and Queenie, and we see Yusuf Kama, which I did not expect. We see a few other unknown witches and wizards.

We also see a young Aberforth Dumbledore looking at writing on a glass that says, “Do you know…”

Do you know what that means? I sure don’t.

Next, we see Bunty, Newt’s assistant who helps take care of the creatures, telling Newt that “No one can know everything.” She was hardly in the second film and appears to have a crush on Newt. It will be interesting to see their friendship grow. There are theories that Tina is actually Bunty undercover, and we know Newt eventually marries “missing in action” Tina.

We see Grindelwald’s symbol and, again, Grindelwald and his supporters. Then we see Grindelwald and Dumbledore talking, where Dumbledore tells him, “What you are doing is madness.” Grindelwald replies: “With or without you, I will burn down their world.”

At one minute and twenty-two seconds in, we see Newt leading Theseus, Lally, and Jacob in Hogwarts. This brings more questions. Can Jacob see Hogwarts? Is that why he received a wand? Like Nagini, we last saw him and Yusuf Kama standing on the bridge at Hogwarts in The Crimes of Grindelwald.

The trailer continues, and the Room of Requirement doors open to show Bunty standing with suitcases. I personally think the suitcases are actually portkeys, or perhaps just magical suitcases, like Newt’s. Newt, Bunty, Theseus, Lally, Jacob, and Albus will probably each grab a suitcase (Jacob holds Albus’s hand).

Does Credence have his own phoenix? We see the same phoenix again; this one doesn’t seem to have the same vibrant colors as Fawkes. We then see Credence/Aurelius duel Albus, to which it seems Albus looks into Credence’s unconscious mind. Perhaps he discovers the truth!

We see Grindelwald and Dumbledore talking yet again, and Dumbledore appears to be holding the blood pact. We then see some familiar magic: a magical barrier with Newt on one side and what appears to be Vinda, Credence, and more of Grindelwald’s followers on the other side. Newt casts the “Accio” charm, and his suitcase flies to him. That’s a nice callback to the Harry Potter films.

We get a flash of green light coming from Vinda’s wand, which can only mean one spell: the Avada Kedavra killing curse! Just like in the previous trailer, we see the bowtruckle running with a wand.

The trailer continues, and we seem to be in either Newt’s suitcase, a sewer, or some other underground area with a lot of water, as some wizards are dueling. It appears to be Credence and Grindelwald, but it’s not clear.

Just under two minutes in, we see Lally and Theseus dueling others, perhaps Grindelwald’s followers or ministry officials! We see some clever magic, no doubt due to Lally being a Charms professor and Theseus an Auror. Remember that Theseus’ fiancee Leta Lestrange was murdered in the last film. Or was she?

It wouldn’t be a Fantastic Beasts trailer without a few shots of magical creatures, from nifflers to large birds!

We then see Dumbledore and Grindelwald dueling. Does this mean their blood pact was destroyed, and they can duel each other?

Yusuf appears, wand at the ready, with new characters, including Liu Tao, who is described as “an authoritative character of some sort, judging by that suit.” In fact, all the other new characters show up subsequently. We see Liu, Vicência Santos, Anton Vogel, and Helmut! Click here to see their character posters.

The trailer ends with a lot of chaos and creatures running amuck! Jacob is holding a suitcase and running, Theseus is falling, buildings are being destroyed, and Credence and Albus are locked in a tight fighting grip. Albus says, “Things are not quite what they appear,” as a phoenix appears, for the third time! Could this mean Credence is not a Dumbledore? Jacob is apparently trying to cast a spell with his wand and seems unable to control it, or possibly his own magic? We see Queenie looking steely and cold. She appears to be in the same place as Jacob.

There is a LOT to unpack in this trailer! You can bet Merlin’s beard that there will be hundreds of theories and discussions forming all over the world in anticipation of the new film!

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore hits theaters on April fifteenth in the USA! I’ll see you at the cinema!

*Thanks to WizardingWorld.com for the images!*