Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is a 2022 fantasy film directed by David Yates from an screenplay by J. K. Rowling and Steve Kloves, based on characters by Rowling. The sequel to Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, it is the third and final instalment in the Fantastic Beasts film series and the eleventh overall in the Wizarding World franchise. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, Ezra Miller, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Callum Turner, Jessica Williams, Katherine Waterston, and Mads Mikkelsen. Set five years after the events of its predecessor, the film sees Albus Dumbledore tasking Newt Scamander and his allies with a mission that takes them into the heart of dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald's army.
The film was slated for release in November 2021, before it was pushed back to April 2022 due to the COVID-19 epidemic. Much of the main cast from the first two films confirmed their involvement in March 2020. Principal photography was set to begin in early 2020, but was postponed due to the epidemic, eventually commencing in September 2020. Johnny Depp returned as Grindelwald and filmed one scene for this film, but was asked to step down in November 2020 following the verdict of the Depp v News Group Newspapers Ltd court case; Mads Mikkelson replaced him later that month. Filming took place until February 2021.
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore premiered at the Royal Festival Hall in London on March 29 2022, and was released internationally on April 14, 2022; and in the United States on April 15, by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed over $407 million worldwide, making it the lowest-grossing film in the Wizarding World franchise. The Secrets of Dumbledore was the last film in the Wizarding World franchise for which Stuart Craig served as production designer, before his death in 2025.

Plot

and Gellert Grindelwald briefly meet in a Muggle teashop, where they acknowledge their mutual feelings. Grindelwald vows to destroy the Muggle world, but Dumbledore calls the plan madness, saying he only supported it because he was in love with him.
In Kweilin, China, Newt Scamander helps a qilin — a magical creature that can see into one's soul as well as the future — give birth. Not long after, Credence apparates in, and leads Rosier and Carrow to attack and kill the mother and kidnap the newborn. Unbeknownst to them, the qilin gave birth to another baby. Newt rescues this young qilin before collapsing of exhaustion. A wyvern from his travelling suitcase flies them all away.
Grindelwald's acolytes arrive at Nurmengard and give him the newborn qilin. Intending to harness its ability of precognition, he kills it by slitting its throat. Queenie surreptitiously observes this with shock.
Newt and his brother Theseus venture to see Albus in Hogsmeade, where they also meet his brother, Aberforth. Albus tells them that he cannot battle Grindelwald directly due to the blood troth that he and Grindelwald created.
Credence, struggling with the revelation that he is a Dumbledore, is visited by Queenie, who relays Grindelwald's suggestion that Credence seek out and kill Albus for abandoning him. Meanwhile, Jacob Kowalski is continuing on as a baker when he encounters Ilvermorny Charms teacher Lally Hicks, who recruits him. Using a book as a portkey, they port into a Berlin-bound train to join Newt, Newt's brother Theseus, Senegalese-French wizard Yusuf Kama, and Newt's assistant Bunty Broadacre. Tina Goldstein is very busy heading up MACUSA and cannot join them. Newt relays Dumbledore's plan to defeat Grindelwald to them. He gives a fake wand to Jacob, a red and gold tie to Theseus, a book to Lally, and to Bunty, a note for her eyes only.
In Berlin, despite Newt's attempt to persuade him otherwise, the outgoing Supreme Head of the International Confederation of Wizards, Anton Vogel, acquits Grindelwald of all previous criminal charges. This allows him to run in the elections for the head of the ICW in a three-way competition against Vicência Santos and Liu Tao. Grindelwald and his acolytes, who have already infiltrated the German Ministry of Magic, overpower and arrest Theseus. Dumbledore apparates into Berlin and dispatches Newt to the Erkstag, the secret German wizarding prison where Theseus is held.
Bunty goes off to have Newt's suitcase copied with six identical ones. Yusuf is planted as a spy in Grindelwald's inner circle. Grindelwald has Queenie use her legilimency to test Yusuf's trustworthiness, and believes her validation.
Credence tracks down Albus and battles him in the streets of Berlin, but is quickly disarmed. Albus confirms to Credence that he is a Dumbledore, the son of his brother Aberforth, but gently assures him that they did not intentionally abandon him. Credence begins to question his loyalty to Grindelwald.
Meanwhile, Grindelwald plots to assassinate the competing Brazilian candidate, Santos, by slipping her a poisoned cup of wine, but she is saved by Lally at the last second. Jacob threatens Grindelwald with his wand to let Queenie go and is mistaken for an assassin. Lally casts a storm charm as a distraction and is able to activate the book portkey in time for her and Jacob to escape from the pursuing Helmut, a German Auror.
Newt finds Theseus in the Erkstag, but they are surrounded by a swarm of baby scorpion-like manticores. Newt and Theseus are able to placate them by rhythmically dancing until a giant manticore attacks them and grabs Theseus. With the help of Newt's bowtruckle Pickett and niffler Teddy, Newt saves him with the red and gold tie, another portkey that transports them to Hogwarts.
Newt and Theseus meet with Albus, Lally, and Jacob at Hogwarts, where Albus shows them their next location, Bhutan. Later, they eat in Hogsmeade, where Lally explains to Jacob that the qilin bows only to someone who is pure of heart, and was thus traditionally trusted to select the Head of the ICW.
Using necromancy, Grindelwald reanimates the dead qilin and charms it to bow to him to influence the election in his favor. Knowing that there was another qilin, he gives Credence a last chance to redeem himself for failing to kill Dumbledore by destroying it.
To thwart Grindelwald's henchmen, each ally of Dumbledore carries an identical suitcase, with only one containing the qilin. The team travels one by one via a portkey to the ICW vote in Bhutan. On arrival, they are confronted by Grindelwald's followers. Theseus, Lally, and Jacob are surrounded and have their suitcases taken, but when Helmut and his men open them, they release Quidditch balls, angry books with fangs, and rapidly multiplying pastries.
Jacob convinces Queenie to come back to him from Grindelwald, but they are caught. Newt meets with Henrietta Fischer, Vogel's attaché, and she tells him that she is with Dumbledore and tries to take his case. Newt is suspicious and resists, but is stunned by Zabini, another Grindelwald follower. When Newt wakes up, he tries to catch Fischer, who gives him back the suitcase, but it vanishes. At the election, the dead qilin that Grindelwald charmed bows to him, and he is elected as the new Head of the ICW, after which he immediately declares war on all Muggles and tortures Jacob with the Cruciatus curse.
Credence arrives and reveals that Grindelwald's qilin is dead. Bunty, who has the real suitcase, produces the surviving qilin. The living qilin passes Grindelwald by and bows to Albus Dumbledore. Shocked, Albus thanks the qilin for the honour, but convinces it that there is another equally worthy. The qilin then bows to Santos, who had freed Jacob from Grindelwald's Cruciatus curse, and she is elected as the legitimate Head of the ICW.
Enraged, Grindelwald tries to kill Credence, who is simultaneously protected by Aberforth and Albus. As an act of defense of Credence, Dumbledore's and Grindelwald's clashing spells break the blood pact, and they fight each other, but are evenly matched, and cannot bring themselves to attack each other at close range. Grindelwald is cornered by all in attendance; he defiantly declares that he was never their enemy, and disapparates.
In the aftermath, Aberforth accepts the dying Credence as his son and takes him home. Back in New York City at Jacob's bakery, Jacob and Queenie have an small wedding ceremony with a few guests. While preparing his speech, Newt steps outside as Tina arrives, and spots Albus Dumbledore watching from across the street. Dumbledore thanks Newt before disappearing into the night.

Cast

Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander:

A British Ministry of Magic employee in the Beasts Division of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, as well as a self-proclaimed magizoologist. He played a part in remedying the events of a violent attack in New York City in December 1926 involving dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald. He is a confidant of Albus Dumbledore, despite being an outcast from certain circles of the British Wizarding Community due to his checkered past.

Jude Law as Albus Dumbledore:

An extremely powerful and influential wizard in the British Wizarding Community, known in the British Ministry of Magic and throughout the wider wizarding world for his academic brilliance, and teacher of Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He holds a blood pact with Grindelwald, with whom he was in love and had a close relationship with as a young adult, preventing them from duelling each other.

Ezra Miller as Credence Barebone:

The disturbed adopted child of Mary-Lou Barebone, who severely abused him and named him "Credence Barebone". Enraged by people's treatment of him, during the incident of 1926 he set his Obscurus parasite loose in New York City, causing widespread destruction. He survived in a tiny Obscurus fragment and was sought out by Grindelwald. He initially believed that he was Corvus Lestrange, Leta Lestrange's deceased half-brother. However, at the end of the second film, Grindelwald claimed that his real name is Aurelius Dumbledore and that his brother, Albus, would seek to kill him. In the third film, he is identified as being Albus's nephew rather than his brother, as he is actually the illegitimate son of Albus's brother Aberforth.

Dan Fogler as Jacob Kowalski:

An American No-Maj veteran of the First World War, owner of a bakery, friend of Newt, and lover of Queenie. When she returns, he later marries her and Newt serves as his best man.

Alison Sudol as Queenie Goldstein:

The pretty and vivacious renegade younger sister of Tina, who worked alongside her in the Magical Congress of the United States of America. She is a powerful natural Legilimens. After being convinced that Grindelwald will make her dream of marrying Jacob come true, she went rogue and joined his side, eventually abandoning her lover and sister. She later returns to Jacob and they marry at his bakery. Her sister serves as maid of honour.

William Nadylam as Yusuf Kama:

A French wizard of Senegalese descent from an old Wizarding family and an ally of Newt, who previously attempted to kill Credence while falsely believing him to be his former stepfather's son, Corvus Lestrange V.

Callum Turner as Theseus Scamander:

Newt Scamander's older brother who is a dedicated and loyal Auror, as well as the Head of the Auror Office in the British Ministry of Magic. He is famous for the title "war hero" for his excellent show of bravery and generosity in the First World War. He constantly tries to tame Newt into more elegance so that he is better accepted in society. He lost his fiancée, Leta Lestrange, in September 1927, after she sacrificed herself at Grindelwald's rally in Père Lachaise, Paris to save the Scamander brothers.

Jessica Williams as Eulalie "Lally" Hicks:

A respected Charms teacher at America's Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Victoria Yeates as Bunty:

Newt Scamander's indispensable Magizoology assistant.

Fiona Glascott as Minerva McGonagall:

A teacher at Hogwarts and Albus Dumbledore's colleague.

Richard Coyle as Aberforth Dumbledore:

Albus Dumbledore's younger brother, owner of the Hog's Head inn at Hogsmeade, and is the biological father of Credence.

Oliver Masucci as Anton Vogel:

The outgoing Supreme Leader of the International Confederation of Wizards and Minister of Magic for Germany.

Poppy Corby-Tuech as Vinda Rosier:

Grindelwald's loyal right-hand follower.

Katherine Waterston as Tina Goldstein:

An American MACUSA Auror and currently Head of the Auror Office in MACUSA. She is Queenie Goldstein's sister and Newt's love interest. She played a role in thwarting Gellert Grindelwald during the Obscurus incident of 1926, for which she and Newt were initially blamed.

Mads Mikkelsen as Gellert Grindelwald:

An infamous powerful dark wizard who caused mass violence, terror and chaos around the globe, seeking to lead a new Wizarding World Order based on his strong belief in wizarding superiority. He had a close relationship with Dumbledore as a teenager. Mikkelsen replaces Johnny Depp, who played Grindelwald in the first two films, due to the latter's libel case with News Group Newspapers Ltd. over his alleged domestic abuse of his ex-wife, Amber Heard. The story does not acknowledge or explain the change in Grindelwald's appearance between films, which Mikkelsen described as a "deliberate" choice.
Other cast members include Maria Fernanda Cândido as Vicência Santos and Dave Wong as Liu Tao, both candidates for the post of Supreme Leader of the ICW; Aleksandr Kuznetsov as Helmut, an Auror of the German Ministry of Magic; and Valerie Pachner as Henrietta Fischer, secretary for the German Minister of Magic.
In minor and one-scene roles, Cara Mahoney as Waitress, a woman who attends Albus in a teashop; Maja Bloom as Carrow, a Grindelwald follower; Wilf Scolding as Frank Doyle/Workman, a relative of Lally; Paul Low-Hang as Zabini, a Grindelwald follower; Peter Simonischek as Warder, a guard of the Erkstag prison; Matthias Brenner as Otto, a leather craftsman; Kazeem Tosin Amore as Workman 2, Noor Dillan-Night as Workman 3, Manuel Klein as Tall Auror, Jan Pohl as Ministry Official, Jacqueline Boatswain as Ida Webb, a British witch and member of the International Confederation of Wizards; Ramona Kunze-Libnow as Edith, a woman who welcomes Lally and Jacob in the Candidates Dinner; David Bertrand as Victor, a wizard who works with Vogel, Stefan Race as Karl, a dark-eyed waiter; Sean Talo as Ministry Wizard, Dónal Finn as Albert, a baker who works with Jacob, Jeremy Azis as German Muggle 24, Jessica Cartledge as "red-headed Ravenclaw", Radha Sthanakiya as "tiny witch 1", Isabelle Coverdale as "tiny witch 2", and Emilia Karlsson as Ministry Guest.