“It’s like a Wizarding heist movie”: Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore press conference with the cast and creatives

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore is the third film in this series of adventures penned by JK Rowling and Steve Kloves. Following the success of the previous two Harry Potter spin-offs in 2016 and 2018, the feature observes the back story of Professor Albus Dumbledore, his relationship with the villainous wizard Gellert Grindelwald and the blood oath they made that prevents them from going head-to-head in battle.

With various pandemic setbacks and a decision to replace cast member Jonny Depp in his leading role as Grindlewald, this long-anticipated feature is arguably the most show-stopping so far. Beautiful cinematography from George Richmond, state of the art CGI and a bolder storyline with far-reaching locales creates a more engaging layer to this Wizarding World franchise.

The Upcoming had the pleasure of hearing from the cast and director at the film’s press conference ahead of the worldwide release, including cast members Eddie Redmayne (Newt Scamander), Jude Law (Albus Dumbledore), Alison Sudol (Queenie Goldstein), Mads Mikkelsen (Gellert Grindelwald,) Dan Fogler (Jacob Kowalski), Jessica Williams (Lally Hicks), Victoria Yeates ( Bunty), William Nadylam (Yusuf Kama), director David Yates and producers David Hayman and Tim Lewis.

Albus Dumbledore has been with us from the start of the Wizarding World, which launched 20 years ago. In this film, how has he changed? Which of his qualities do you think are consistent with the Albus that we know and love?

Jude Law: So it’s not a process of change, it’s more a process of regression. One of the joys that David really allowed me to investigate was, rather than feeling the wake of the brilliant performances by Michael Gambon and Richard Harris, was to go back and understand that he’s not the fully formed Dumbledore of the Harry Potter books and films. He is a man still finding his way. Still confronting and resolving his demons. That’s what I mean by regression. In this film, in particular, he’s facing the past. He’s facing himself and his own guilt. But if there were a quality that links him, I would say it’s his mischievousness, his humour and his belief in people. He sees the positive. You can see how Dumbledore believed in Draco he even believed in Tom Riddle. He sees the good or the potential good, and I think that’s something that he’s always had.

What appealed to you most about diving into this character’s history?

JL: It was a no brainer. “Would you like to play Albus? Dumbledore?” “Yes, I would”. I felt like I’d been in preparation subconsciously, from the minute I started reading the books to my children. And where there’s just so much in the character in mine to investigate as an actor. And that’s before you even get into this extraordinary world of magic. That’s just him as a human. But the magic is really fun, too. I remember Eddie telling me that if there’s a situation or a problem with a scene, “Remember, you’ve got magic at your disposal”.

Eddie, it seems that in this film, Dumbledore is treating Newt more like an equal, giving him a position of leadership within the team that he assembles. Can you talk about their relationship and how it’s evolved? And what it’s been like working with Jude on his second film?

Eddie Redmayne: I love the new Dumbledore relationship. What I love is that it’s got that complexity of sort of master and apprentice, but it’s evolved throughout the movies to being something almost fraternal, a sort of older brother/younger brother. There’s a moment in this film when Newt even takes it upon himself after he sees the vulnerability in Dumbledore and tries to pass on a moment of wisdom to him. So that’s progression! What I love about Newt is fundamentally he’s an introverted guy and is most comfortable with his creatures and in his own world but Dumbledore has seen a quality in him that he has the potential for leadership, albeit in an unconventional way. It’s like a Wizarding heist movie in which this group of unconventional outsiders all band together and the leader is unconventional too. Jude was a friend before we started working together and one of the real joys about working on a series of films is you really get to push the boundaries and that there’s a kind of shorthand.

When we first see Jacob in this film, it’s clear that he and his bakery have fallen on hard times. Can you talk about where he is at the start of this movie?

Dan Fogler: He’s extremely down on his luck. It seems like he’s just in this constant state of loss. He’s lost his love, he’s lost his appetite. He’s losing his bakery. It’s like, he’s losing his mind, so that’s where you see him but he still holds that glimmer of hope that Queenie is going to come back.

Jessica, we do meet Lally briefly in the second movie, but in The Secrets Of Dumbledore, she is a central character. Tell us a little bit more about her?

Jessica Williams: Professor Eulalie Hicks is a charms professor at Ilvermorny, the North American Wizarding school. She is a brilliant witch, who I think is a good teacher. I think she went to school with Queenie and Tina at the same time, too. She’s someone who’s really good at seeing into the heart of people and the heart of the matter. Not only that, but she’s really good at defensive magic. Dumbledore kind of “recruits” her to deal with his bad ex. I really feel like this is a good person to call for something like that.

Mads, you portray one of the most powerful dark wizards – what was it like for you to enter this world? You’ve played many villains in your career,  how did you approach the character?

Mads Mikelson: I was thrown into it a little later than the rest of the gang. They’ve done two films and then they were halfway through when I joined the party. The crew’s fantastic, David’s fantastic. And if they’re the family, he’s the Godfather, he’s done this so many times. I felt at home right away. This character is very linked to Dumbledore, me and Jude we had quite a few conversations about what that relationship looked like. What’s his mission, what’s his goal. They started out having the same mission but then it got all blurry…

Alison, everything about Queenie has changed from when we first met her. Can you share a little bit without giving away too much about her present circumstance?

Alison Sudol: At the end of the second film, we see Queenie make a pretty shocking decision, something that no one really expected. The prejudice, the narrow mindedness of the world she lives in put her into a really vulnerable position where somebody that’s really manipulative told her what she wanted to hear. But in fact, all she really wants is to be with the person she loves. She’s also being utilised for this tremendous power that she has, that she’s either had to hide in the past, or she’s been made to feel guilty about, and there is something interesting about that… about a person who hasn’t actually been able to live fully as who they are. I think a lot of young women can relate to that, as well as what happens when somebody sees that thing in you (that burning part of you) that nobody else sees. She’s at a point where she has two ways to go, so that’s where her journey is now.

William, a lot happened with your character in the previous story. Can you talk a little bit about yourself and where we find him in this film?

William Nadylam: Yousuf is someone who is motivated by pain and vengeance. That’s a recurring theme. His sister dies, burned right before his eyes, so he has been pursuing vengeance, looking for the person who created the demise of his family and realised that he was chasing the wrong target. Dumbledore has provided him with a mission. He’s part of an army and he’s been provided with one of the most beautiful gifts of family, a family led by Newt and a purpose too.

Victoria, Bunty has always played a key role in Newt’s world but she has really stepped out of the shadows in this feature. What are her feelings for Newt and where do we see her now?

Victoria Yeates: She would do anything for her beloved Newt. She idolises him. You see her step out of the shadows more when Dumbledore gives her a mission, which will be very important to the film. She has watched Newt for most of her life growing up in Hogwarts. She loves beasts and she’s happier in the basement with those beasts and she wants to be like him and be as good as him. So there are a lot of different levels of love. A lot of respect. And it happens, doesn’t it? Unrequited love? It has been eight years, but I hope she’ll get there. I hope she’ll branch out at some point but for now…she’s happy in his shadow.

David, we recently celebrated the 20^th anniversary of the Wizarding World and you have been a major part of cinema history. What have you loved about continuing this journey through seven films? And what do you think is the enduring appeal of the Wizarding World as well as some of the themes.

David Yates: When you make a movie, it’s a huge logistical enterprise, so going into that experience with people you respect and admire, but who also can take the strain of it, with real dignity and humour is essential. They are the qualities I found in many of the people I work with, in front of and behind the camera. In this film, it’s about family, it’s about the courage of doing the right thing, it’s about love. For Dumbledore, it’s about choosing between the love he had and maybe still has, and doing the right thing for the greater good. It’s about the choices you make, for all of the characters.

For both beloved and new characters, how is this a return to the magic of the Wizarding World?

David Hayman: With this story, in particular, we wanted it not only to be emotional, but enjoyable, and for it to be a real treat. For it to lean into the values of some of the earlier Potter films that had whimsy and charm, humour and humanity. We showed it to a little audience a few weeks ago, and there was this very young kid in the audience and everyone turned to him when the lights went on and said, “What do you think?” because he’s one of our first audience members other than the people here in it. And he looked at me and he said, “I liked it. It’s really human” and I thought, we’ll take that.

Tim, this film returns to some of the places that audiences love, but it also takes them to brand new places as well. Can you talk a little bit about that?

Tim Lewis: One of the exciting things, certainly for the audience, and certainly for us filmmakers, is being able to open up the magical world and to go to completely new areas, which gave us a hugely interesting, creative, new environment to reproduce. We start off in China, in the forest. We then spend quite a lot of time in Germany where we see the German Ministry of Magic and then at the end, we end up in Bhutan. But then we do go back to familiar places. We go back to Hogwarts and return to familiar places from all the previous films.

Ezelle Alblas

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is released nationwide on 8^th April 2022.

Watch the trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore here: