A hidden detail in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore links Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen) to Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes). The third Fantastic Beasts movie promises to delve further into Albus Dumbledore's (Jude Law) past and relationship with his friend-turned-foe Grindelwald. The Fantastic Beasts 3 trailer shows multiple instances of a baby Qilin, which might prove essential in understanding Grindelwald's lust for power as well as his connection to the Dark Lord.
A Qilin is a magical creature found in Asia, also known as the Asian Unicorn. It's described as a very peaceful creature that walks so softly, it doesn't crush a single blade of grass. Killing a Qilin is a crime but unfortunately, much like in the Unicorn's case, Qilins' blood has life-prolonging properties, so dark wizards sometimes kill these peaceful creatures. In the Fantastic Beasts 3 trailer, the Qilin appears as a symbol on the Portkey bell in the Room of Requirement, written (as "Qirin") on a banner during a march, as a baby creature in Newt’s arms in a forest, and with Grindelwald in the bathroom. It's safe to say the Qirin will be a key magical creature in the new movie, and that Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) will have to rescue the baby Qirin before Grindelwald can slay it.
At the end of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Newt manages to take Grindelwald's vial (via Niffler) and give it to the Hogwarts headmaster, in hope of destroying Dumbledore's blood pact with Grindelwald so that the great wizard can fight his enemy directly. Without the vial to protect himself from Dumbledore, Grindelwald will seek an extra layer of protection. Just like Voldemort is seen consuming Unicorn's blood in the Forbidden Forest in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Grindelwald might be planning to drink Qilin's blood to extend his life beyond death. This shows exactly the unquenchable thirst for power that makes Grindelwald such a worthy adversary of Dumbledore's, drawing a strong parallel to the Dark Lord.
The Qilin that Grindelwald gets his hands on in Fantastic Beasts 3 is a vulnerable baby that Newt will undoubtedly try to rescue. The Qilin thus promises to bring Newt back into the Fantastic Beasts saga as a central character. The second film has been criticized for shifting the focus away from Newt and the magical creatures, as the story concentrates on Dumbledore's war against Grindelwald. Although the third movie is titled The Secrets of Dumbledore, it seems like the franchise hasn't forgotten about Newt or the beasts he cares so much about. This time, the Qilin provides an excellent bridge between Newt's story and Grindelwald's.
If Grindelwald goes down the route of slaying a Qilin to stay alive (or become invincible), he might become the master of his own demise. As Firenze explains to Harry in the first Harry Potter movie: "The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something pure and defenseless to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life." If Dumbledore breaks the blood pact and Grindelwald destroys his soul through the horrific act of murdering a Qilin, Mads Mikkelsen's character is on a certain path to death in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.
