Gellert Grindelwald is the primary villain in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore and the franchise overall, and he's got a twisted history that is deeply tangled with that of Albus Dumbledore. The dark wizard was once the biggest threat to the Wizarding World and, in many ways, he set the stage for Lord Voldemort’s rise to power decades later.
Gellert Grindelwald has gone through many visible changes throughout the Fantastic Beasts films. In Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, he masqueraded as Percival Graves, an auror with the Ministry of Magic in the U.S. before revealing his true self. In Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, Johnny Depp’s Grindelwald was replaced by Mads Mikkelsen. The changes to the character’s visage haven’t stopped him from rising to power and stirring the Wizarding World into action, however.
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is set to delve further into Grindelwald’s plans, his relationship with Dumbledore, and the power he holds over the Wizarding World. Here is a complete guide to Grindelwald’s backstory, from his origins all the way up to his death.
Grindelwald's Origin: What Wizarding School He Went To & Why He Was Expelled
Gellert Grindelwald did not attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, like so many in the world of Harry Potter did. Rather, the villain of the Fantastic Beasts franchise went to Durmstrang Institute. First introduced in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Durmstrang was also a school for witches and wizards, located in the north of Europe. Grindelwald was attracted to the dark arts and in finding the Deathly Hallows, in particular, but he was ultimately expelled from Durmstrang at 16 when his twisted experiments and attacks on fellow students became too terrible to avoid. His obsession with the Deathly Hallows, objects he believed would help him in his rise to power, pushed him to do unthinkable things to master the dark arts.
How Gellert Grindelwald Is Related To Bathilda Bagshot
There isn’t much that is known about Grindelwald’s family, but Bathilda Bagshot plays a decent-sized role in his life. Bathilda is Gellert Grindelwald’s great-aunt and a magical historian who lived near the Dumbledore family. Grindelwald went to live with her in the summer of 1899 because he was still hunting the invisibility cloak. Bathilda took him in, but it is ultimately unknown whether she is related to Grindelwald on his mother or his father’s side of the family.
How & When Gellert Grindelwald Met Albus Dumbledore
Grindelwald met Dumbledore after moving in with Bathilda Bagshot. Dumbledore’s family also lived in Godric’s Hollow and Albus had just moved back after graduating from Hogwarts, which followed the death of his mother. Grindelwald and Dumbledore got along well and hit it off immediately after they met. They spent the whole summer together, exchanging ideas and thoughts about the world, including a plan to find the Deathly Hallows together. It was during the summer of 1899 that the pair also fell in love with each other, forming a blood pact that ensured they would never fight each other no matter what.
Dumbledore and Grindelwald had a lot in common; they were also exceptionally powerful wizards who seemingly had the same ambitions, though they both wanted to use the Deathly Hallows for different things. Dumbledore to fight back against aggressors whose violence was fueled by hatred, while Grindelwald wanted to amass power over the Wizarding World and to get rid of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy that separated them from the muggle world. He also sought the Deathly Hallows so he could become the Master of Death.
Grindelwald's Rise To Power & Wizarding War
Grindelwald’s true rise to power began in the 1920s. Seeing how destructive muggles could be, Grindelwald wanted nothing more than to strip them of their power so they wouldn’t cause any more harm following World War I, allowing for the Wizarding World to keep them in line. He also didn’t think wizards and witches should be forced to hide from muggles. By 1926, Grindelwald had amassed a group of followers who were willing to listen and do his bidding. The dark wizard launched attacks throughout Europe that shook the Wizarding World to its core. He also killed plenty of people, which led to an international hunt for Grindelwald, who wanted to ascend to the highest power in the Wizarding World. In Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Grindelwald amassed more power after infiltrating the Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA), impersonating the auror Percival Graves.
The war was instigated to stop him from claiming such power, and the international magical community worked to mitigate the disaster he wreaked. Of course, there were several in the Wizarding World, including those in power, who were working with Grindelwald and so there was a push-pull dynamic that was constantly bubbling to the surface and threatening to cause cracks within the Wizarding World. Grindelwald’s biggest fear was to be defeated by Dumbledore, the only wizard who could best him, which is why his hunt for Credence was so essential to his plans because he wanted to use the younger wizard's powers against Dumbledore. By the end of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, aurors were out in full force against the dark wizard, openly fighting him and hunting him down for years.
How Grindelwald Got The Elder Wand
Grindelwald was researching the Deathly Hallows for a long time. Years before the timeline of Fantastic Beasts, Grindelwald followed up on rumors that the wandmaker Mykew Gregorovitch had the Elder Wand. Naturally, he chased those rumors to discover it was true. Grindelwald broke into Gregorovitch’s home and waited for him to arrive before stealing the Elder Wand. The dark wizard was able to stun the wandmaker before taking it, which ensured the Elder Wand would only answer to Grindelwald thereafter.
How Powerful Is Grindelwald Compared To Voldemort
Grindelwald was surely one of the most powerful wizards to ever walk the earth. Skilled in the dark arts, Grindelwald was able to conjure many spells that would cause devastation and death. His abilities were so great that he was nearly matched with Dumbledore’s own magical skills in his prime. The theft and ownership of the Elder Wand makes him more powerful than Voldemort in that respect. What's more, Grindelwald's international influence was greater than Lord Voldemort's, whose violence and following seemed rather limited to the UK, and the former wizard is considered to be more intelligent, with Voldemort primarily amassing a following through fear.
However, while Grindelwald mastered the dark arts and wielded the Elder Wand, Voldemort was doing dark magic at a much younger age and could also control it. Grindelwald still had some compassion for Dumbledore while Voldemort had none at all. It was the lack of attachments and hatred that fueled Tom Riddle to dominate the dark arts. Considering there is still less to be known about Grindelwald's powers and whether he would still be as powerful in the dark arts if not for the Elder Wand, Voldemort comes out on top in terms of ability. Not to mention the fact that he was able to create Horcruxes. In the Wizarding World, at least, Voldemort came to be feared more than Grindelwald for his power.
How & When Grindelwald Is Defeated By Dumbledore
Dumbledore avoided Grindelwald for years — notably during World War II and the Wizarding war his former friend began. It wasn’t until 1945 that Dumbledore went in search of Grindelwald to do what must be done, finding his friend and ex-lover so they could fight. By this point, of course, Grindelwald possessed the Elder Wand and wielded it in his battle against Dumbledore. The duel was a legendary one, considered to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, duel in the history of the Wizarding World. The two fought each other for a long while and it was only because Dumbledore was only slightly more skilled than his opponent that he was able to best Grindelwald. The duel itself would be much talked about for decades to come, with Grindelwald’s hold on the Wizarding World usurped only by Lord Voldemort’s rise to power.
Grindelwald's Death In Harry Potter
Despite being defeated in 1945 by Dumbledore in a duel, Grindelwald was not killed until decades later. He was imprisoned at Nurmengard Castle for the rest of his life shortly after his battle with Dumbledore and, over five decades later, was visited by Lord Voldemort himself, who was hoping Grindelwald would give him the location of the Elder Wand. Grindelwald’s death is mentioned in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. After Grindelwald refused to tell Lord Voldemort where he could find the Elder Wand (and that it would never belong to him), the dark wizard grew angry and frustrated, killing Grindelwald in his cell.
How Old Is Grindelwald In Fantastic Beasts & Harry Potter?
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is set in 1926 and its sequel, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, in 1927. This indicates Grindelwald was 44 and 45 years old, respectively, during the events of both films. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, however, is set a few years after, in 1932, which puts Grindelwald at approximately 50 years old at the time of the film’s story. By the time of his death in 1998, during Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Grindelwald was about 116 years old, having lived most of his life in prison.