Eddie Redmayne Confirms Darker Tone for “Crimes of Grindelwald”

Judging by the trailer, we all figured Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald would be a far darker movie than its predecessor – something about the ominous dialogue and thunderstorm imagery tipped us off. Eddie Redmayne (Newt Scamander) made this abundantly clear in a recent interview, letting us know that the sequel to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will read more like a thriller set within the wizarding world we know and love:

The most riveting aspect is the tonal change. It’s darker and more rigorous and weaving in the Potter lore we’re much more familiar with. So these characters you met in the first film are now in the wizarding world you understand more thoroughly. When I read [the script] it had these cryptic elements to it and it played like a thriller that made it a page-turner.

What we know of the plot certainly lends itself to a darker film. Grindelwald has escaped prison just before his trial, and it’s up to Newt and his friends to find him. However, Redmayne hints at another, more political, subplot to this film:

I’m enlisted by Dumbledore (Jude Law) to try and track him down and capture him. What’s happened is, Grindelwald’s belief that pure[-]bloods should reign over all non-magical beings is a political thing. He’s rallying more and more people and it causes divisions across families. He’s pretty hypnotic.

Remind you of another Dark wizard we know? It looks like Crimes of Grindelwald plans to set up a similar wizarding war to the one we saw in the original Harry Potter movies, though that’s just a theory. For now, all we can do is look at this brand-new still from the movie and speculate until November 16!