The Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them franchise is written by J.K. Rowling, directly for the screen, and take place 70 years before the events of the first Harry Potter book, in New York, and follow the adventures of Newt Scamander, the author of The Fantastic Beasts books taught at Hogwarts.
But the franchise, only two movies in, seems to be leaving audience members a bit more confused than normal. Were the Harry Potter movies more well-adapted to the screen because they could rely on the universe created in the books to help guide the story? As J.K. Rowling begins her career as a screenwriter, writing Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them as a screenplay rather than novels, has she misunderstood the art of screenwriting, given there are are so many convoluted subplots in the series, particularly in the second movie, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald? Will the films get more clear as they go on, revealing more details that will help the franchise make more sense? Or is she writing backward from a perceived end to Dumbledore’s story, and in doing so, ends up creating plot holes and confusing answers to the questions we’ve all had about him and Grindelwald? Here are 10 unanswered questions we still have About Grindelwald:
How Did Dumbledore Break The Blood Oath Between Him and Grindelwald
At the end of the second Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them movie, it is revealed that when they were younger and friends, Dumbledore and Grindelwald made a blood pact that they could not fight each other.
But if you’ve read or watched the Harry Potter movies, you know about the legendary battle between Dumbledore and Grindelwald, depicted in history books and given Dumbledore the status of the greatest wizard that ever lived. Will the third movie reveals how this blood oat was broken or will we have to wait till the last movie of the franchise, stated to be a five-part franchise?
Why Does Grindelwald Have Two Different Colored Eyes
While the actor who played young Grindelwald in the Harry Potter movies didn’t have mismatched eyes, the same actor who plays young Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts franchise now has two mismatched eye colors. Johnny Depp, who plays adult Grindelwald, also has these mismatched eyes.
While there is no real explanation (yet!) for the mismatched eye color, Johnny Depp, who helped design the character’s look, has stated that it was a character choice of his own, to reveal the internal duality of Grindelwald, the two twins inside him battling.
What Does The Skull Hookah Do For Grindelwald’s Powers
We see Grindelwald with a skull that he smokes, a hookah or bong of sorts, but it’s a bit ambiguous what the skull is for. Is it to help his visions as a Seer? Does he not have the natural ability to see the future or does the skull simply amplify his inherent powers?
Well, according to director David Yates, the skull simply helps project his visions so that others can see them, like a cordless projector for his brain movies. This is how he projects his visions of a future war to his followers.
Why is Grindelwald Not Considered The Greatest Dark Wizard?
Given what we already know about Grindelwald’s actions, and what we suspect might come next, how are Lord Voldermort’s actions considered worse than that of Grindelwald? While Voldermort mostly controlled England, Grindelwald’s hold spanned all of Europe, except England, which implies a greater and larger following and as such, more power.
Was it because so much of Grindelwald’s past and actions were obscured to most? Since Dumbledore, for a long time, was the only one who knew that Grindelwald had the Elder Wand, did it take away from Grindelwald’s reputation? Was it because Grindelwald had principles, wanting to save the world (whether or not this was true) while Lord Voldermort wanted to destroy it?
Were Grindelwald and Dumbledore in a romantic relationship?
While the Harry Potter universe doesn’t focus much on love interests beyond that of the younger generations, and similarly in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, it was revealed years ago by J.K. Rowling that Dumbledore was gay. This spurred a lot of talk about whether Grindelwald and Dumbledore’s intense friendship and intimacy were more than just friendship.
Was Grindelwald also gay? And is that what we as an audience want? It seems as though the movies, up until this point, are quite vague about Grindelwald and Dumbledore’s relationship, only revealing small details like the blood oath, and other such details, when it’s important for the plot.
Who Were Grindelwald’s parents?
The books and movies don’t reveal much about Grindelwald’s past, how he came to be, how he ended up in Godric’s Hollow (was it just to study the Deathly Hallows?), presumably after he was expelled from Durmstrang Institute, located in the far north of the European continent, is a wizarding school that is known for training Dark Wizards.
How did he end up at Durmstrang in the first place? His own interests or that of his unknown family? It’s not surprising that Grindelwald attended the school, though it is surprising that he was expelled. Why? There is so much mystery surrounding the powerful man.
How Did Grindelwald End Up In The US?
Similar to the previous question, Grindelwald’s story is still shrouded with mystery. When he left Godric’s Hollow as a young adult, where did he go?
Did he end up in the US right away or was he elsewhere in Europe, trying to cultivate his following? How did he end up in the US? Has he always disguised himself as Graves or was this a more recent disguise? How long did it take him to come up with his plan? Why does he hate Muggles so much? Did he feel bad about Ariana's death?
Is Grindelwald So Confusing Because His Back Story Was Not Originally Planned?
It seems as though Grindelwald’s story might have only been planned as a small appearance in the Harry Potter books to lend Dumbledore more notoriety as a famous and powerful wizard and shroud his past in more mystery. Dumbledore’s mystery has always been a struggle for Harry, who realizes when his old headmaster dies, that he doesn’t know much about the older man, who never really talked about himself, and focused solely on Harry.
Was Grindelwald's back story then constructed after the original Harry Potter series ended in order to grow the franchise, and try to give Harry Potter fans more to look forward to?
Is Grindelwald Planning To Stop World War II?
Given the battle between him and Dumbledore happens in 1945, the Muggle war Grindelwald predicts is most likely World War II. But is Grindelwald serious in his plan? Does he want to take over the Wizarding World with his fascist ideas to take down the fascists and Nazis of World War II? Does he see himself as that different from Hilter, given his dislike of Muggles and the Muggle World, and his want to control them and make them subservient, believing that Wizards are the “superior race” so to speak?
How are the Wizards even affected by World War II? Wouldn’t they just watch it go by from a distance? Are there religions in the Wizarding World? Given the lack of talk about race, religion, and gender diversity in the Wizarding World and whether the prejudices of the Muggle world overlap into that of the Harry Potter universe, how are we supposed to understand Grindelwald’s plans to end this war?
Is Grindelwald lying about Credence Being A Dumbledore?
It is implied that Credence is Albus Dumbledore’s brother, and yet, there isn't enough to truly understand the truth and the possibility of this. The ministry thinks that Grindelwald wants to use Credence to help him in his horrifying mission to rule over the Muggles.
At some point, Grindelwald tells Krall that he needs Credence’s help to destroy Dumbledore. Is this because Credence is powerful enough to do so, more so than Grindelwald? Or is it because Grindelwald believes that Dumbledore wouldn’t kill his own brother, especially after what happened with Ariana.