‘Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald’ Full Character Profiles Reveal Trouble in Paris!

Aug 24, 2018

Posted by: Emma Pocock

Exclusives, Fantastic Beasts Movie, News, SetReports

We left most of the core characters of Fantastic Beasts on a positive note at the end of the first movie. Grindelwald had been imprisoned by MACUSA, Newt was just about to publish his book, Tina had just proven herself as a worthy Auror to MACUSA, and Queenie and Jacob appeared to be reunited.

After our visit to the set of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Warner Bros shared character profiles with us, revealing the missions that lead each of the quartet to end up in Paris, and explore how new characters (and familiar faces) come into play in our first introduction to Grindelwald’s plans to rise to power, and Dumbledore’s mission to thwart him.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald Set Report Links

Art Department & Plot Run-Through with Martin Foley   |  Walking the French Wizarding World: French Diagon Alley & the French Ministry   |   Props Department with Pierre Bohanna    |    Interview with Director David Yates    |    Interview with Producer David Heyman    |     Interview with Eddie Redmayne (Newt Scamander)    | Interview with Callum Turner (Theseus Scamander)    |    Interview with Ezra Miller (Credence Barebone)    |    Interview with Costume Designer Colleen Atwood    |     The Magical Creatures of Crimes of Grindelwald    |    Character Profiles: Trouble in Paris

 ~~~SPOILER WARNING~~~

This report will disclose firsthand exclusive details about Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald characters, including plot details not seen in the trailers!

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Newt’s book has become a bestseller since we see him at the end of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and he’s suffering a little from the unwanted fame. Thankfully, perhaps, Dumbledore whisks him away on a new mission to thwart Grindelwald’s plans:

NEWT SCAMANDER (Eddie Redmayne)

Newt Scamander, a brilliant Magizoologist, is a courageous and resourceful wizard who was instrumental in the capture of the infamous Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald during his recent excursion to New York. Since then, Newt’s book, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, has become a runaway bestseller, bringing him unwanted fame. He would prefer to carry on quietly with his life’s work: studying, rescuing and caring for magical animals. However, his former professor and friend, Albus Dumbledore, has another job in mind for him—a mission that will again set him directly in the path of the dangerous, and increasingly more powerful, Grindelwald.

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After getting back her job as an Auror, Tina’s gone awol once again, and is trying to find Credence in Paris. She’s convinced she can help him, but runs into trouble trying to do so:

TINA GOLDSTEIN (Katherine Waterston)

Tina Goldstein has been reinstated as an Auror at MACUSA (Magical Congress of the USA), but, while she remains dedicated to the job of enforcing magical law, she has not lost her independent streak. Leaving New York, Tina has traveled to Paris on a cryptic—and wholly unauthorized—investigation of her own. She knows Credence survived MACUSA’s attempt to destroy him in New York, but she is also aware that, as an Obscurial, he is considered a threat to the wizarding community and is in grave danger. Employing all of her skills, Tina is finally closing in on Credence, but her perilous pursuit has also put her on a collision course with other powerful forces hunting him.

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Queenie takes matters into her own hands, we’re told, after we see her lift the memory charm off of Jacob at the end of the first movie. A desperate attempt to escape the laws forbidding her relationship with Jacob leaves their relationship threatened, which leaves Queenie “desperate… and vulnerable” – it’s not sounding good for Ms Goldstein!

QUEENIE GOLDSTEIN (Alison Sudol)

Queenie Goldstein is a free-spirited witch who is also a Legilimens—able to read minds—which can sometimes be as much a curse as it is a blessing. Queenie has fallen in love with No-Maj baker Jacob Kowalski, despite the wizarding world laws forbidding the relationship and the painful rift it has caused between her and her sister, Tina. Intent on finding a way for her and Jacob to be together, she has used magic to whisk Jacob, unwittingly, to England, where magical laws are more permissive. However, the ruse backfires, threatening their budding romance and leaving Queenie desperate…and vulnerable.

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We’re excited to see the return of our favorite No-Maj, Jacob, but it appears he’s having trouble with Queenie after she decided to whisk them away to England to save their relationship – he’s unable to hide his thoughts from her (as a Legilimens), of course, and after Queenie is driven away, we’re told that his journey to find her leads to another adventure with Newt:

JACOB KOWALSKI (Dan Fogler)

Jacob Kowalski is a No-Maj who adores baking and Queenie Goldstein—not necessarily in that order—but he is aware that wizarding world laws forbid their relationship. While Jacob shares Queenie’s desire for them to be together, he is nevertheless upset to find himself suddenly in England, having no memory of how he got there, and realizing that Queenie had magically taken matters into her own hands. With Queenie able to read his mind, his thoughts, while unspoken, are enough to drive her away in tears, and he will need Newt Scamander’s help to go after her. Despite his concern over Queenie, Jacob is thrilled to be reunited with his friend Newt and to join him on another adventure in the wizarding world.

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For reasons known only to Dumbledore, only Newt can thwart Grindelwald’s plans to manipulate the wizarding world. Using Newt to fulfil his plans (like a chess piece, says Martin Foley), Dumbledore’s complex relationship with Grindelwald is sure to unfurl throughout the Fantastic Beasts series:

ALBUS DUMBLEDORE (Jude Law)

Albus Dumbledore is the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where one of his former students was Newt Scamander. Newt has since become a trusted friend and protégé, though the always shrewd Dumbledore has no compunction about using Newt for a noble purpose. Aware that Grindelwald has escaped custody, Dumbledore also knows he will waste no time in furthering his cause: elevating wizards to rule over Muggles. His own formidable powers notwithstanding, Dumbledore is unable to move against Grindelwald himself—for reasons he alone knows—and must rely on Newt to try and thwart the Dark wizard’s plans.

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Grindelwald escapes from MACUSA, of course, and sets up operations in Paris – we’ll see him send a message (read more in our tour of the Art Department) and will try to manipulate wizards to join his cause:

GELLERT GRINDELWALD (Johnny Depp)

Gellert Grindelwald is a powerful Dark wizard, as charismatic as he is cunning, who believes wizards should have dominion over all non-magical people. He wreaked havoc across Europe before being captured by MACUSA in New York, thanks in no small part to Newt Scamander. However, just as he forewarned, Grindelwald has made a daring escape. Setting up a new base of operations in Paris, Grindelwald expands the scope of his power and influence as more wizards flock to his cause, some unaware of his true agenda.

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We’ll see the return of Credence in Crimes (read more about this in our interviews with Ezra Miller, David Heyman and Martin Foley), and he’ll head to Paris with the wizarding circus to try to discover his true identity. He’s gaining confidence after being freed from Mary Lou, and is in ‘total control’ of his Obscurus – a rare feat in the wizarding world, as Newt says he’d never known and Obscurial to survive past childhood:

CREDENCE (Ezra Miller)

Credence was once believed to be non-magical; however, he turned out not only to be an Obscurial but an extraordinarily powerful one—the only one ever known to have survived past childhood. Credence has come to Paris, where he is desperately searching for his real mother, hoping to learn his true identity. More self-assured than he had been under the abusive rule of his adoptive mother, Mary Lou Barebone, Credence is still vulnerable and alone, save for one friend, a Maledictus. However, he now has total control of his Obscurus—the magical force that had been suppressed within him for years—making him a danger in the eyes of some and a potential tool to others.

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We’re all wondering just who the Maledictus is, and whether we’ll see her transform in Crimes – ultimately, she’s part of the Circus Arcanus, and is being exploited by its leader, Skender. Thankfully she manages to escape, with none other than the newest recruit at the circus: Credence Barebone:

MALEDICTUS (Claudia Kim)

The Maledictus appears to be a beautiful, young woman, but she is a carrier of a blood curse that ultimately destines her to transform permanently into a beast. She is first seen as the star attraction at Circus Arcanus, a wizarding world circus, where her transformative powers are being exploited by its cruel owner and Ringmaster, Skender. But the Maledictus has also found a friend in one of the menial workers there, Credence. After they escape from the circus together, the Maledictus becomes Credence’s companion and confidante in his search for his identity.

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Understandably, Leta’s engagement to Newt’s brother, Theseus, has created a bit of awkwardness between them, which we’ll see in Fantastic Beasts. She’s no stranger to being an outsider, like Newt,  and is now working at the British Ministry of Magic:

LETA LESTRANGE (Zoë Kravitz)

Leta Lestrange is an old friend of Newt Scamander and shared a close bond with him when they were classmates—and both outsiders—at Hogwarts. She is now working at the British Ministry of Magic as the assistant to Torquil Travers, the Head of Magical Law Enforcement. Leta is also engaged to Newt’s older brother, Theseus, which has created some awkward tension between them.

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You can read more about Theseus in our interviews with Eddie Redmayne and Callum Turner, but this character profile implies that he might have to make a tough call in Crimes:

THESEUS SCAMANDER (Callum Turner)

Theseus Scamander is the older brother of Newt Scamander, though they seemingly have very little in common. Theseus is more outgoing and demonstrative than Newt. A celebrated war hero, Theseus is now the Head of the Auror Office at the British Ministry of Magic and is engaged to Leta Lestrange. Theseus is often torn between his love for his brother and his loyalty to the Ministry and his job.

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We learned more about Yusuf Kama in our interviews with director David Yates and producer David Heyman. A wizard hiding out in the Parisian sewer system and appears to be a relative of Leta Lestrange (and her mother, Laurena Lestrange) and, apparently, Credence Barebone. This character profile gives us more of an idea of the ’emotional wound’ he’s suffering, and the mission he’s trying to complete – is he out to get Credence?

YUSUF KAMA (William Nadylam)

Yusuf Kama is an elegant French-African wizard who says he is the last male in his pureblood family line. After many years of obsessively searching for Credence, he has finally tracked him down in Paris. But to what end?

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As we know, Nicolas Flamel and the Philosopher’s Stone will appear in Fantastic Beasts, but this character profile gives us the impression that his presence is carefully calculated by his friend, Albus Dumbledore:

NICOLAS FLAMEL (Brontis Jodorowsky)

Nicolas Flamel is an approximately 600-year-old wizard living in Paris. An alchemist, he is the creator of the Philosopher’s Stone and believed to be immortal. Flamel is a close friend of Albus Dumbledore and was already expecting Newt’s arrival, as he knew Dumbledore had sent Newt on a mission to Paris.

Abernathy

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We’re told that Abernathy – whom we met in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them at MACUSA – is within Grindelwald’s inner circle, as well as a few new faces (and one potentially related to the Carrows in Harry Potter)!

ABERNATHY (Kevin Guthrie), CARROW (Maja Bloom), KRAFFT (Simon Meacock), KRALL (David Sakurai), NAGEL (Claudius Peters), and ROSIER (Poppy Corby-Tuech)

Abernathy, Carrow, Krafft, Krall, Nagel and Rosier are Gellert Grindelwald’s inner circle of acolytes, who will do or sacrifice anything in service to their master’s nefarious cause.

Are you excited to see how these new characters come into play, and how loyalties will be tested now that Grindelwald is at large? Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald releases in theatres November 16th. For now, be sure to check out our reports from the set of the movie, including tours of the French wizarding world, interviews and exclusive information!





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