Where The Deathly Hallows Are During Fantastic Beasts 2

The first teaser trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald has arrived, and already the marketing seems to be teasing the importance of the Deathly Hallows in the movie. The teaser ended with the symbol of the Deathly Hallows appearing in wisps of smoke, and the movie's Twitter hashtag has the symbol attached as well. With that in mind, it's worth taking stock of where the Deathly Hallows are at the time the movie takes place - and, for good measure, the Philosopher's Stone as well.Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald sees the return of Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander, who is now heading to Paris on the wishes of Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law), on some kind of mission to stop the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp). When we last saw Grindelwald he was being arrested by MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States of America) wizards, but in an intriguing parting barb he said to Newt, "Will we die, just a little?" The trailer for Fantastic Beasts 2 shows Grindelwald briefly, still in custody, but it's safe to stay he won't stay locked up for long.Related: Fantastic Beasts 2 Fan Theory Predicts the Origin of Voldemort's SnakeGrindelwald seeks power above all else, and we know that both he and Dumbledore - who were friends (and more) in their youth - are fascinated by the story of the Deathly Hallows. These three powerful magical objects, when combined, supposedly allow a wizard to become the "Master of Death." It's reasonable to assume that Crimes of Grindelwald will bring the Hallows - or, at least, the search for them - back into play, but the chances of Grindelwald finding them are slim.This Page: Where Are the Deathly Hallows?

Where Are the Deathly Hallows?

An image from the tale of the three brothers in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

To recap, the Deathly Hallows are the Elder Wand (the most powerful wand in existence), the Resurrection Stone (which brings people back from the dead... well, sort of), and the Invisibility Cloak (which does exactly what it says on the tin). In Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Grindelwald (disguised as MACUSA Auror Percival Graves) gave a necklace with the symbol of the Deathly Hallows to Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller), an Obscurial whom Grindelwald had hoped to use in his plot for world domination.

The Elder Wand is already in Grindelwald's possession. According to Harry Potter lore, Grindelwald stole the Elder Wand from the wizard Gregorovitch when he was much younger, and the Hallow proved to be instrumental in Grindelwald's rise to power. It may have been confiscated when he was arrested, but it's more likely that he secreted it away somewhere while he was posing as Graves, and will retrieve it when he escapes.

The Resurrection Stone is, as far as we know, still in the possession of the House of Gaunt - Voldemort's wizarding ancestors. A seriously inbred family of dark wizards, the Gaunts are descended from Salazar Slytherin and, though once noble and wealthy, eventually ended up living in squalor. The Resurrection Stone is embedded in a ring that, when Fantastic Beasts 2 takes place, belongs to the Gaunt family patriarch, Marvolo Gaunt. It's possible that the Gaunts will align themselves with Grindelwald and that he will somehow get his hands on the Resurrection Stone that way - but this is unlikely, since Marvolo himself is unaware that the stone in his ring is the Resurrection Stone. Besides, Grindelwald probably wouldn't see much value in a family that has been brought so low.

The Invisibility Cloak might be the safest of all the Hallows, since it's in the possession of the Potter family. Harry is descended from Ignotus Peverell, the youngest and wisest of the three wizards who supposedly met Death on a bridge one night, and were given the Hallows as gifts. The Potters are, as far as we know, unaware that the cloak is one of the Hallows, and have likely kept its existence a secret within the family. Therefore, it's unlikely that we'll see the Invisibility Cloak come into play in The Crimes of Grindelwald.

Grindelwald's Plan and the Philosopher's Stone

For the reasons mentioned previously, we probably won't see the Invisibility Cloak or the Resurrection Stone in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Those two Hallows are both stowed away, waiting for Harry Potter to discover them in about 70 years. However, the movie could instead see Grindelwald chasing a different MacGuffin: the Philosopher's Stone (or, as it was called in the American versions of the Harry Potter books, the Sorcerer's Stone). The major tip-off that the Philosopher's Stone could play a role in Fantastic Beasts 2 is the fact that its creator, Nicolas Flamel, is the movie, played by Brontis Jodorowsky.

The Philosopher's Stone was encountered by Harry Potter in his first year at Hogwarts, as Flamel had handed it over to Dumbledore for safekeeping. The Stone creates the Elixir of Life, which grants immortality - something that naturally drew Voldemort towards it. Because of its association with cheating death, critics of the collection of wizarding fairy stories The Tales of Beedle the Bard have speculated that the eponymous Beedle was inspired by the Philosopher's Stone when he wrote "The Tale of the Three Brothers" - the story that explains how the Deathly Hallows came to be. In short, some in the wizarding world believe the Resurrection Stone and the Philosopher's Stone to be the same object.

It's a reasonable assumption, since the Philosopher's Stone was created by Flamel in the 1300s and the Peverell brothers lived and died in the 1200s, meaning that both stones emerged at approximately the same period in history. If Grindelwald believes that the Philosopher's Stone is the Resurrection Stone, he would probably stop at nothing to possess it, given his obsession with the Deathly Hallows and his lust for power. Since the Philosopher's Stone is in Flamel's possession at the time when Fantastic Beasts 2 takes place (he needs to keep it nearby, so he can have a ready supply of the Elixir of Life), Flamel could end up with a target on his back.

Based on what we've seen of the movie so far in this teaser, it seems like Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is interested in revisiting the franchise's roots. It will take audiences back to Hogwarts, and feature Dumbledore as a key character. Given that the Philosopher's Stone and the Resurrection Stone bookended the original run of stories, it would certainly make sense to bring back the former as a pivotal object. Eternal life is a tempting prospect, especially for a wizard like Grindelwald.

If the Philosopher's Stone is the object of pursuit in Fantastic Beasts 2, we know that ultimately it will end up safe and sound in Flamel's possession, just like we know Dumbledore will ultimately defeat Grindelwald in a later sequel. Still, knowing how things end up won't make the journey any less interesting.

More: Fantastic Beasts 2: Why Dumbledore Can't Fight Grindelwald (Yet)