Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald Final Trailer Features A Surprise Reveal

As far as trailers go, final ones for films are usually relatively lackluster compared to the first, second, and even third ones. The exception to this rule is the most recent trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, which features a surprise character reveal. 

Warner Bros. dropped the final Fantastic Beasts sequel trailer on Tuesday, revealing the footage on Twitter and broadcasting live fan reactions on electronic billboards in New York City, Toronto, and Tokyo (via Variety). 

The trailer includes Fantastic Beasts favorite Eddie Redmayne as the lovable, freckle-faced Magizoologist and expelled Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry alum; Jude Law as a young Albus Dumbledore, the legendary wizard and Hogwarts Headmaster who trained Newt in his youth and argued against his expulsion; and Johnny Depp as Gellert Grindelwald, the pale-eyed evil wizard who encourages other wizards to come out of hiding and use their abilities however they please, which threatens to break the relationship between the wizard and non-wizarding worlds and shattering the peace that has existed between them for over 100 years. 

As Dumbledore explains to Newt in the trailer, "Grindelwald wants to see that peace destroyed." When Newt asks Dumbledore if he wants him to hunt Grindelwald down "to kill him," Dumbledore answers that he "cannot move against Grindelwald" and that Newt has to be the one to stop the villain's nefarious plans. 

Fans got a taste of the film's premise in previously released trailers, so this back-and-forth between professor and protégé shouldn't drop any jaws. What will do that, however, is the moment Credence Barebone, played by Ezra Miller, utters "Nagini." 

Harry Potter fans will instantly recognize this as the name of Lord Voldemort's snake, which the Dark wizard later uses as a Horcrux to preserve part of his soul in his efforts to gain immortality. But in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Nagini isn't a snake through and through — she's a human who can shape-shift into the slithering reptile. South Korean actress Claudia Kim, known for her work on the Netflix series Marco Polo, plays Nagini, a performer in the Circus Arcanus who eventually teams up with Voldemort to become his literal cold-blooded pet. 

Following the final trailer's release, Harry Potter series author and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald producer and screenwriter J.K. Rowling clarified that Nagini is a Maledictus, a female who is cursed from birth and will eventually turn into a beast, rather than an Animagus, a witch or wizard who can transform into an animal at any time they please. 

"The slow transformation into a beast is beyond their control, but they aren't destined to be evil," Rowling added on Twitter.

At the time the trailer hit the internet, Entertainment Weekly revealed that Kim kept her role as Nagini a secret for more than a year — which was no easy feat considering the amount of fan theories she stumbled upon since being cast. 

"I've seen so many videos and fan theories on YouTube," Kim shared with the outlet. "Everyone is so good at analyzing every element there is. I've been very careful and aware that I should not spoil it for anybody. But I've been dying to say something!" 

It's unclear exactly how Nagini factors into the overall Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald narrative, but Kim did dish up a few pieces of information that offer more context. She explained that Nagini sometimes introduces herself "as 'Credence's only friend,'" and that Credence "is special to her because he encourages her to use her power." Although Kim couldn't say one way or another whether Nagini "has powers like wizards have," she did reveal that the character "has powers that are yet to be explored" and that she doesn't have a wand. 

"It will be so interesting to see another side of Nagini," Kim added. "You've only seen her as a Horcrux. In this, she's a wonderful and vulnerable woman who wants to live. She wants to stay a human being and I think that's a wonderful contrast to the character."

Catch Nagini, Credence, Newt, Dumbledore, Grindelwald, and the whole wizarding and no-maj gang when Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald launches in theaters on November 16.