Dumbledore’s Relationships Are Complicated in “Crimes of Grindelwald”

by · July 19, 2018

Jude Law’s recent interview with Entertainment Weekly has given us a wealth of new information about Dumbledore and his role in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. We now know that Dumbledore is not teaching Transfiguration in this film, he has a beautiful wand that is not the Elder Wand, and Law is not trying to imitate any of the Dumbledores we know and love.

In this interview, Law also gave us an idea of what his relationships with other characters are like.

I think he admires in Newt this sense of moral code that he will always do the right thing because he can’t do anything but the right thing. I think he likes that Newt finds beauty in beasts because I think occasionally Dumbledore feels like a beast. And there’s a master and mentee kind of relationship. And Newt isn’t afraid to say when he thinks Dumbledore is wrong; it’s not servitude.

There has been a lot of speculation about Newt’s relationship with Dumbledore, especially since the trailer focuses on the fact that Newt has to confront Grindelwald instead of the future Headmaster. Law seems to have a great understanding of his character, and this master and mentee relationship that he describes could be a wonderful dynamic on-screen.

EW also asked Law about Dumbledore’s relationship with Grindelwald. We know that Dumbledore’s sexuality will not be a major part of this film, but will he have any scenes with Grindelwald, played by Johnny Depp?

I don’t actually have any scenes with Johnny. As I said before, this is only Part 2 of a longer story. I’ve always admired him from afar, but we don’t know each other, and I’ve not yet met him on this. In many ways that suits the relationship as it’s been many years since they’ve seen each other. So there’s complexity in that that’s fun to mine. Again, the past will reveal itself.

Looks like we’ll have to wait for Fantastic Beasts 3for a Dumbledore and Grindelwald scene. For now, we’ll settle for learning more about what Dumbledore is like at this younger age and his relationship with Newt. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald will be released on November 16, 2018.