The third instalment in the Wizarding World franchise, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore retcons Harry Potter in a few significant ways, while largely still being an improvement on its immediate predecessor. Debuting back in 2016, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was for the most part a whimsical standalone adventure, very much centered around magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne). However, the movie gave hints towards a larger Wizarding World story, unveiling Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) at the very end, which led to some significant issues in the sequel.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald crossed over much more directly with the Harry Potter series, bringing in Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) while also making Grindelwald a main character. With that, it also led to some big Harry Potter retcons; there was, of course, the reveal that Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller) is really Aurelius Dumbledore, but also a change in Professor McGonagall’s age too, having her teach at Hogwarts long before had been previously established. Thanks to Pottermore, interviews, and social media, additions to and retcons of Harry Potter canon had already become somewhat commonplace even prior to these movies, but Fantastic Beasts made them bigger and seen en masse.
After The Crimes of Grindelwald underperformed at the box office and with critics, alongside ongoing behind-the-scenes controversies, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is very much a course correction. The movie improves upon what came before in several ways, with a more exciting story, stronger characterisation, and a greater sense of capturing the wonder and magic of the Wizarding World. At the same time, while far from movie-ruining, it does retcon elements of canon and massively reframe or re-contextualise others. Here are all the ways Fantastic Beasts 3 retcons Harry Potter.
Fantastic Beasts 3 Retcons Ariana Dumbledore's Death
Ariana Dumbledore's death is one of the most tragic backstory elements from the Harry Potter books and movies, the biggest sign of Albus Dumbledore's darker past that most people are completely unaware of. Aside from confirming that Ariana was an Obscurial, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore makes some other changes to her story. Harry Potter had previously established that Ariana's death was a result of a three-way duel between Aberforth, Albus, and Gellert Grindelwald at the Dumbledore home in Godric's Hollow. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, it's said that Aberforth confronted his brother over his and Grindelwald's plans, saying he couldn't take over the world with their sister in toe; a row broke out that quickly escalated, with Grindelwald using the Cruciatus Curse on Aberforth and a bigger fight breaking out. Ariana tried to help, and was hit and killed by a stray spell.
Dumbledore retells these events to Newt Scamander in Fantastic Beasts 3, keeping some of the details the same - a row between the two brothers, Ariana unwittingly caught in the crossfire, not knowing who killed her - but retcons Harry Potter in one key way: Grindelwald's involvement. Rather than mentioning the use of an Unforgivable Curse, Dumbledore says that he simply stood there and laughed when the two brothers drew their wands on one another. It's possible, of course, that later in the duel he did get involved, but it's a strange omission that colors Ariana's death differently; while it's long been very possible anyway that Albus was the one who cast the fatal spell, if there were only two combatants then it makes it more likely, while it would also explain why Aberforth was so furious at his brother, making it even more personal between them.
Fantastic Beasts 3 Changes Aberforth's "Secrets" Line From Harry Potter
With Fantastic Beasts 3 titled The Secrets of Dumbledore, the assumption was that it was referring to Albus. After all, there was plenty of setup to explore his character and backstory further, and as one of the biggest characters in Harry Potter, yet one around whom there remains some mystery, it'd only be natural for more secrets to be uncovered. In a sense the movie is about those secrets, especially as it uncovers more of Dumbledore and Grindelwald's relationship, but the biggest secret of all belongs to Aberforth, and it's in that where Fantastic Beasts 3 retcons Harry Potter, or at least reframes it.
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Aberforth tells Harry: "Secrets and lies, that's how we grew up, and Albus, he was a natural." In the same passage, he also questions why Harry - or anyone - would ever trust Albus, and it's very clear that he still has a deep resentment and distrust of his brother, the implication of which is that Albus was the most secretive and deceptive of them all. However, that's not entirely the case, with it confirmed that Credence, or Aurelius, is Aberforth's son, a secret he seemingly harbored for several years that is as big as any Albus himself carried. The circumstances around that are complicated, sure, but Fantastic Beasts 3 changes the Harry Potter line, further emphasising the "we" aspect in showing that Aberforth too was clearly something of a natural at it, and making it feel more than a little hypocritical to boot.
Fantastic Beasts 3's Albus & Aberforth Have A Closer Relationship Than Harry Potter's
Alongside changing the nature of Aberforth's line about Albus, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore also reframes the brothers' relationship. In Harry Potter, where Aberforth is hardly mentioned anyway, there's a real sense of bitterness from him towards his brother. It made sense, given what had happened with Ariana, and implied that Aberforth had never really forgiven Albus for what happened to their sister. Fantastic Beasts 3 makes Albus and Aberforth seem much closer: they're still not exactly the best of friends, but there's a clearer sense of kinship, with Albus' meals at the Hog's Head implied to be a regular occurrence.
Albus did visit the Hog's Head on occasion because the quieter bar had its uses - such as interviewing Sybil Trelawney there - but there was no real sense of the relationship they have here. It's possible it existed off-page, of course, or that the resentment grew over the years, as Albus became Headmaster of Hogwarts, was the man many wanted for Minister of Magic, took the position of Supreme Mugwump, and generally was the Wizarding World's great hero, when Aberforth knew the truth about him, but Fantastic Beasts 4 and 5 (if they happen) could show the pair growing further apart too.
Albus Dumbledore Is Pure Of Heart? That Doesn't Fit Harry Potter
Speaking of Albus Dumbledore becoming Supreme Mugwump, it's something that almost happens in Fantastic Beasts 3 as well. After Grindelwald has been exposed, the real Qilin bows before him, having looked into his soul and deciding that he was the purest of heart among them. There's no doubting Dumbledore is among the greatest wizards to have ever lived and, despite his past mistakes with Grindelwald, a good man. But pure of heart? That seems a step beyond the Dumbledore of Harry Potter, who was extremely flawed - and that's not a bad thing, as it's what helped make his character compelling. He kept many secrets, he used people, and was willing to do just about anything necessary, even with the loss of life, to secure the safety of the Wizarding World from Lord Voldemort; a noble cause, sure, but not one that was defined by his purity. His idea of what "the greater good" was shifted massively, but there's a sense in which those words were always what drove him in a way, but Fantastic Beasts 3's ending retcons that to make him a more pure good and right hero.
Fantastic Beasts 3 Retcons Dumbledore & Grindelwald's Duel
One of the first things revealed about Albus Dumbledore's backstory in Harry Potter is that he duelled - and defeated - the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, as seen on the back of his chocolate frog card. No other context was given then, but it was a tantalizing hint of his incredible power that would only be shown in flashes across the Harry Potter books and movies, such as battling Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, or facing the Inferi in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. With later Harry Potter books shedding more light on Grindelwald, and subsequently the Fantastic Beasts franchise introducing him as a main character, then the setup is very much to show that 1945 duel, should the franchise get to that point (which will depend on box office). However, there was never a mention of another clash between them; indeed, it's remarked upon that Dumbledore's face-off with Grindelwald came after years of the dark wizard's war being waged, when he could no longer ignore calls to face him.
Fantastic Beasts 3 retcons Dumbledore and Grindelwald's duel by revealing they did have an earlier fight, as the pair do battle in a magical mirror dimension of sorts after their blood pact is broken. After that, Dumbledore promises to continue hunting Grindelwald and to defeat him. With that knowledge, then, it makes it stranger that it took so long to happen, as the timeline suggests it will be more than a decade before Dumbledore duels Grindelwald and beats him. The suggestion of their 1945 duel was very much that it was a "finally!" type moment for Dumbledore stepping out to face his friend-turned-foe, but it now reads rather differently, and means Fantastic Beasts 4 and 5 will need to explain the delay.
Fantastic Beasts 3 Retcons The Killing Curse (Twice)
A two-for-one special in Fantastic Beasts 3's Harry Potter retcons, The Secrets of Dumbledore makes a couple of changes to how the Killing Curse is used. Harry Potter himself is, of course, the only person known to have ever survived the curse, and beyond that Harry Potter canon established a couple of other rules: that Avada Kedavra couldn't be blocked by any typical protective spell, and that it killed its intended target instantly. The exceptions came solely with Harry himself, thanks to the love from his mother, and then his connection to Lord Voldemort and the shared link between their wands, but Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore has a couple of other changes. In the film's opening act, the mother Qilin is hit by two Killing Curses, and yet after a lengthy chase sequence involving Newt, the baby Qilin, and Grindelwald's followers, he returns with the mother still dying, but not yet dead. It's possible, of course, that this Harry Potter retcon is explained by the Qilin's own great magical power, since it's such a rare creature, but it's also done in order to service the plot and allow for the death to be drawn out and spring the surprise of the twin Qilin.
Fast-forward to the movie's final act, and Grindelwald aims a Killing Curse at Credence, with Albus and Aberforth Dumbledore both firing protective spells to block it. It's unclear what spells they use - producing a golden magic that suggests something far greater than any previously seen shield charm - but the result is saving Credence's life. Again, it's possible there are explanations for this - it could be a similar scenario to Lily Potter saving Harry, where love is the reason it doesn't work; it could also be linked to Dumbledore and Grindelwald's blood pact, which breaks in this moment too - but however it spins it, it's another way of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore retconning Harry Potter lore.