Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore brings new magical creatures to the screen as Newt Scamander travels to South America, Asia, and Germany — here's every new fantastic beast in the film. The third movie of the five-movie series based on J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World delved further into Albus Dumbledore's (Jude Law) past and his war against Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen). However, as Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) stays central to Dumbledore's team, he stays central to the Fantastic Beasts story, but maybe not the beasts.
When Newt Scamander first appears in Fantastic Beasts, he is trying to return Frank, a thunderbird Newt rescued from the illegal wildlife trade, to his natural habitat in Arizona. Every time he encounters a person scared of a magical creature, he reminds them, "There are no strange creatures, only blinkered people." Newt becomes the leading authority on magical creatures, obtaining a ban on experimental breeding, writing the first guide to magical creatures, and receiving the Order of Merlin for his contributions to Magizoology. The Secrets of Dumbledore's central beast is called the Qilin. This creature can detect the purest of hearts and see the future. The Qilin is used in the Wizarding election to determine who is best to lead the Wizarding World. Grindelwald kidnaps one, neglecting that the mother had twins, kills it, and reanimates it to control its decision. Fortunately, things don't go according to Grindelwald's plan.
Fantastic Beasts 3 certainly didn't feature nearly as many fantastic beasts as the first movie, but at least they were more central to the plot than Fantastic Beasts 2. Several scenes feature magical creatures, some old (such as Newt's bowtruckle Pickett), some new (but already part of the Harry Potter canon). Here are all the confirmed Fantastic Beasts 3 new magical creatures, as seen in the film.
Qilin/Qirin
The Qilin (sometimes Qirin) is one of the critical Fantastic Beasts 3 magical creatures on the list, as its survival is central to both Grindelwald and Dumbledore's respective plots. First, it appears as a symbol on the Portkey bell in the Room of Requirement, as a baby in Newt’s arms, then with Grindelwald in the bathroom. Its name is also written (as "Qirin") on a banner during a march that's in Bhutan, as it's the site for the wizarding election.
The Qilin, also known as the Asian unicorn, is an extraordinarily gentle and peaceful creature. Killing a Qilin is a crime, but unfortunately, its blood has life-prolonging properties, much like the unicorn's. Grindelwald steals the Qilin, kills it, and reanimates it to secure his place in the upcoming election. One thing he doesn't realize, is that the mother sired twins. Newt has to keep the other Qilin safe, and make sure that it gets to the election to thwart Grindelwald's plans.
Blast-Ended Skrewts
The movie features a fairly lengthy scene where Newt and his brother Theseus (Callum Turner) carefully swivel their way through a cave filled with creatures resembling crabs or scorpions. They seem to be doing fine (thanks to Newt's extensive Fantastic Beasts 3 magical creatures knowledge) until they realize a much bigger beast is behind them: a giant blast-ended skrewt. The smaller creatures are also blast-ended skrewts, presumably the babies of the big bad lurking at the bottom of the cave and devouring prisoners.
Blast-ended skrewts are among the strangest Harry Potter creatures. They're magical hybrid beasts that Rubeus Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) bred by cross-breeding Manticores and Fire Crabs. Clearly, this horrifying creature existed long before Hagrid reared them at Hogwarts, as Newt encounters one in the 1930s. As their name states, these creatures can blast fire out of their backside, which can be seen in Fantastic Beasts 3.
Snallygaster
This creature is seen flying while holding Newt, his case, and the Qilin to take them to safety after being attacked by Grindelwald's followers. It is indeed a Fantastic Beasts 3 new magical creature, and it resembles the legendary Snallygaster, a part-bird, part-reptile distant relative of the Occamy, endemic to the New World. It has repeatedly threatened the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, appearing in Muggle newspapers almost as often as the Loch Ness Monster. This wouldn't be the first time Newt wreaks havoc by exposing giant magical creatures to Muggles. But thankfully, that doesn't happen in Fantastic Beasts 3.
Confirmed Returning Magical Creatures in Fantastic Beasts 3
Pickett - Pickett is a bowtruckle and Newt's trusted sidekick throughout the Fantastic Beasts series. Fantastic Beasts 3 still features Newt's loveable sidekick. Pickett rides on Newt's shoulder again, and even gives him two moments to shine: in the forest, and when he excitedly presents Jacob's wand.
Diricawls - These plump, fluffy-feathered, and flightless magical birds first appear in Newt's suitcase in the first Fantastic Beasts movie. Fantastic Beasts 3 shows these magical creatures during a fight scene with Theseus and Eulalie Hicks (Jessica Williams).
Phoenix - The Phoenix appears at the end of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, during a moment with significant repercussions on the Harry Potter canon. Grindelwald reveals Credence's identity as Aurelius Dumbledore when a Phoenix chick steps onto his palm. He eagerly throws it into the air, where it erupts into a burst of flame and births the adult phoenix. Gellert explains to Credence that the Phoenix "will come to any [Dumbledore] who is in dire need." Fantastic Beasts 3 indeed has a giant Phoenix coming to Credence/Aurelius's aid.
Is Fantastic Beasts Really Still About The Beasts?
While the magical creatures in Fantastic Beasts pop up at pivotal points, they've turned from the focus of the series into glorified plot devices used to drive the narrative forward. Fantastic Beasts focused on introducing a massive array of Newt's magical creatures and his mission as a Magizooligist. The dive into Newt's case shed new light on a faction of the Wizarding World that people hadn't seen before. In Fantastic Beasts 2, people were taken into Newt's mystical case once again, but the focus shifted to Grindelwald, and his "many crimes."
By the time Fantastic Beasts 3 rolled around, no entry was granted into Newt's case at all. And while the case does act as a narrative device towards the end of the movie, people still don't get to go inside. The film's saving grace is its focus on the Qilin and the implications that the creature has for the Wizarding World at large. The narrative has now shaped itself around the Dumbledore/Lestrange dynasty, Grindelwald, and Albus' relationship with him. It's good that the nature of Grindelwald and Dumbledore's relationship is finally being explored. However, the attention has been taken away from the titular fantastic beasts, making the franchise's name almost entirely moot.
Still, the story leaves some space for bestial significance. Credence's Phoenix gives its species a darker undertone, as the newly-discovered Dumbledore struggles with identity issues and with being an Obscurial. Adding to Credence's anxieties, the Phoenix doesn't just come to members of the Dumbledore family; as stated by Albus Dumbledore himself, Phoenixes are incredibly loyal creatures who will come to the aid of beings who share a similar devotion. This is how Fawkes comes to Harry's aid in slaying the Basilisk in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. The Phoenix's allegiance to Credence in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore confirms his identity as Aberforth Dumbledore's illegitimate son, showing that even though the beasts are no longer the story's center, they still hold symbolic power in the Wizarding World.