Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald director David Yates has revealed that the new movie will continue carrying the Wizarding World franchise’s tried and true no-homo position.
Update: Rowling has noticed the negative feedback (and there’s a LOT) on Twitter. Her response:
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
Original story: During a brief interview published on Wednesday over at Entertainment Weekly, Yates revealed that Dumbledore’s sexuality will “not explicitly” be addressed in Fantastic Beasts 2. The news is somewhat surprising given J.K. Rowling’s own admission that Dumbledore had fallen in love with Grindelwald. If the two characters are taking center stage beginning in this sequel, why wouldn’t this be a crucial part of the story?
“Not explicitly,” Yates told EW when asked if Dumbledore’s interest in men would be made known. “But I think all the fans are aware of that. He 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.”
He added about Dumbledore: “He’s a maverick and a rebel and he’s an inspiring teacher at Hogwarts. He’s witty and has a bit of edge. He’s not this elder statesman. He’s a really kinetic guy. And opposite Johnny Depp as Grindelwald, they make an incredible pairing.”
Rowling said to “watch this space” concerning Dumbledore’s sexuality at a Fantastic Beasts press junket in 2016. “This space” does not appear to be movie two in the series, so maybe we’ll get explicit information in movies three, four, or five.
To play devil’s advocate for a moment and support Yates: Maybe there is a non-explicit hint of him being gay in The Crimes of Grindelwald. On one hand you can praise the filmmakers for not having to make a big deal out of someone being gay. On the other, it’s frustrating that they won’t just come out and say it — are they afraid that it could hurt box office revenue?
It reminds me of The Cursed Child — it’s STRONGLY suggested that Albus and Scorpius could have a romantic interest in one another, but the situation gets no-homo’d at the end when Scorpius and Rose, a character who barely appears in the story, kiss.
I can’t help but think that if Grindelwald was a woman, Dumbledore would be doing more than non-explicitly addressing that he had an interest in her. And in Fantastic Beasts we got quite a large hint — an explicit one, you might say — of Newt’s interest in Leta Lestrange. It was a hint that we’ve come to learn will play a role in future movies.
Dumbledore’s love for Grindelwald will also play a role in this story. So when and where are we learning about it?
It’s time for Rowling to practice what she preaches:
.@claraoswiin But of course. pic.twitter.com/Galu47MT4X
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) December 16, 2014
Yates is also kinda bad at giving interviews. Just because the fans “are [already] aware” of him being gay doesn’t mean they have a free pass to not address it. It’s still a big part of the story, no?
Ugh. Okay now time for our regular disclaimer about another issue with this film series…
Editor’s note: Johnny Depp, who co-stars in this film, allegedly beat his ex-wife Amber Heard. These accusations were made by Heard and Depp’s former associates. J.K. Rowling responded to the controversy. Why are we telling you this?