In a recent interview, David Yates, director of "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald," stated that the film will "not explicitly" address the sexuality of everybody's favorite Hogwarts Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore.
At an appearance in 2007 in Carnegie Hall, after the release of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," JK Rowling brought the character of Dumbledore out of the closet. Rowling admitted that she wrote the character of Dumbledore as homosexual and that he had both an intense intellectual and passionate love affair with Gellert Grindelwald, the titular character of the upcoming film.
One of the most exciting pieces of news surrounding the upcoming film is the addition of Jude Law to the cast in the role of the beloved Albus Dumbledore. However, any hopes or expectations of fans that the film will provide a glimpse into the personal life and love affair between Dumbledore and Grindelwald have been dashed.
Yates stated in an interview last week with Entertainment Weekly that, “[Dumbledore] had a very intense relationship with Grindelwald when they were young men. They fell in love with each other’s ideas and ideology and each other." In the interview, Yates went on to further confirm that the film will "not explicitly" deal with the relationship as Yates "thinks all the fans are aware of [the relationship]."
Rowling responds to tweets
Upon the news of the filmmaker's decision to not address Dumbledore's sexuality, fans took to Twitter to acknowledge their outrage.
A lot of this outrage was directed at author and screenplay writer JK Rowling. Rowling replied to the storm with this tweet shutting the haters down.
Being sent abuse about an interview that didn't involve me, about a screenplay I wrote but which none of the angry people have read, which is part of a five-movie series that's only one instalment in, is obviously tons of fun, but you know what's even *more* fun? pic.twitter.com/Rj6Zr8aKUk
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) January 31, 2018
The tweet suggests that the screenplay Rowling wrote contained scenes of the love affair.
The tweet also suggests to fans that while Dumbledore and Grindelwald's relationship is not present in the second film, it might be addressed in one of the other three upcoming films in the franchise, giving fans something to hope for.
However, this does not sway fans from questioning why the film does not want to "explicitly" address the sexuality of one of the most beloved characters of the "Harry Potter" series.
Casting controversy
This is just the latest piece of controversial news surrounding the "Fantastic Beasts" franchise. Many are questioning the casting Johnny Depp in the role of Grindelwald, amidst allegations of Depp's domestic abuse against his ex-wife, Amber Heard.
The questionable casting of Depp is further amplified by a recent Entertainment Weekly interview with Daniel Radcliffe. Radcliffe remarked that "I can see why people are frustrated with the response that they were given," regarding Depp not being fired from the "Fantastic Beasts" franchise. Radcliffe went on to further remark on the hypocrisy of the situation, since the Harry Potter franchise fired Jamie Waylett (Vincent Crabbe) for growing ten marijuana plants: "I suppose the thing I was struck by was, we did have a guy who was reprimanded for weed on the [original Potter] film, essentially, so obviously what Johnny has been accused of is much greater than that."
Amidst the excitement and the controversy surrounding the film, "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald," the fact remains that there will be three more films after this one. Fans, therefore, can hold onto hope that the director and filmmakers will rectify this decision and address the relationship between Dumbledore and Grindelwald in future theatrical installments.
