Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwaldis just around the corner and it looks like another classicHarry Pottercharacter is going to join in on the action. We’ve known for some time that Albus Dumbledore is going to appear, as portrayed by Jude Law, in a much younger version of the character than we’re accustomed to seeing. But, it looks like he’s not the only important figure in the history of Hogwarts to be sneaking into the next chapter of the wizarding world.
Warning: possible minor spoilers ahead forFantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. According to a new report, a young version ofMinerva McGonagallwill also be featured in the movie. The role originated with Maggie Smith, starting with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. This time around, the role will be played byFiona Glascott. The Irish actress is known for her roles in projects likeBrooklynand the TV seriesEpisodes. However, her specific role in the movie hadn’t been revealed until now, even though she was listed as a cast member.
Minerva McGonagall, known to the students of Hogwarts as Professor McGonagall, was a major fixture of both the book series and the movies. So it’s not terribly surprising that she’s been brought into this new series of prequels. Especially since J.K. Rowling has written the scripts for both movies so far. However, there is a tiny problem with her inclusion in the sequel, for those who are very familiar with thelore of the wizarding world.
According to the officialHarry Pottercanon, Minerva McGonagall wasn’t born until 1935 and she didn’t even enroll as astudent at Hogwartsuntil 1947. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them took place in 1926 and the follow-up takes place just several months after. So, McGonagall shouldn’t even be born yet in this universe. That leaves two possible answers; either J.K. Rowling is just rewriting history to make use of a character she felt the need to include in the story, or McGonagall will appear in a post-credit scene, flash-forward, or something of that nature, in order to keep with the established canon. Though, the former seems far more likely.
Ultimately, this is something J.K. Rowling wouldn’t do unless she felt it were necessary and warranted. This universe is very much her baby and she’s always been a great ambassador of that universe. Plus, it’s worth mentioning that Fiona Glascott will probably only have a relatively minor role, since we’re only just now learning that she’s playing such a major character. But this should open the door for McGonagall to appear in Fantastic Beasts 3 more significantly.
The sequel seesNewt Scamander(Eddie Redmayne) tasked with trying to help Dumbledore take down the nefarious Grindelwald (Johnny Depp), who has escaped custody since the end of the first movie and is assembling a dark wizard army. David Yates is once again in the director’s chair.Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwaldis set to hit theaters on November 16. This news was previously reported byPop Culture.
