Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore Trailer Offers More Questions Than Answers

After the success of eight "Harry Potter" films, it was probably the easiest development call Warner Bros. ever made to put a new series set in J.K. Rowling's beloved wizarding world into motion. While many fans might have hoped for some kind of sequel series exploring the world after Harry and friends defeated Voldemort and his horcruxes once and for all, what we got instead was a prequel series centered around a very minor character only mentioned in the source material. Thus, the "Fantastic Beasts" franchise was born, and after two theatrical releases and one very high-profile casting shakeup, the response among fans and critics has been largely ... divided (via Rotten Tomatoes).

The tepid reaction from otherwise voracious fans of the property hasn't stopped the "Fantastic Beasts" films from making money, nor has it deterred Warner Bros. from forging ahead with its franchise expansion. Next up is the intriguingly titled "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore." Aside from the installation of "Hannibal" star Mads Mikkelsen in the role of principal antagonist Gellert Grindelwald — a role previously played by Johnny Depp — little is known about the third "Fantastic Beasts" film, nor about the secrets to which the young Dumbledore (Jude Law) so desperately clings. Fans may have a few ideas, however, and the first proper trailer for the film is now here to neither confirm nor deny any of them.

"Harry Potter" fans will know that Dumbledore is a man of many secrets, some of which he even took to his grave at the end of "The Half-Blood Prince." He held many of these secrets during the timeline of the books and film franchise to ostensibly keep Harry safe, but some of the darkest ones date back to the timeline of the "Fantastic Beasts" series, when Dumbledore was but a young Transfiguration professor, and the greatest threat to the wizarding world was a handsome Hitlerian upstart named Gellert Grindelwald.

Before Grindelwald took a turn for the genocidal, he and Dumbledore were lovers, and together they pursued a shared interest in the Deathly Hallows, magical artifacts that play a central role in the final act of "Harry Potter." Will the secret of Dumbledore's relationship with Grindelwald be the titular secret at the core of the third "Fantastic Beasts" film? Or is there yet another layer to this complicated partnership? Only time will tell. Until then, enjoy the first trailer.