Here's How Dumbledore Could Break That Magic Spell In Fantastic Beasts 3

Warning: this article contains spoilers for "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore."

While the "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" film series began as a "Harry Potter" spinoff focused on the magical adventures of Magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), the series quickly morphs into a depiction of the power struggle between dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen) and the rest of the magical world. 

Longtime Potterheads have known the broader strokes of this storyline since J.K. Rowling published "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," in which Harry learns about Albus Dumbledore's (played by Jude Law in the new movies) affiliation with Grindelwald as a young man, suddenly complicating his relationship with his now-dead mentor. By the end of the book, Dumbledore himself tells Harry that his friendship with Grindelwald ends in a three-person duel between himself, Grindelwald, and Aberforth Dumbledore that leaves their sister Ariana dead. Although it's established earlier that Dumbledore eventually defeats Grindelwald in a legendary 1945 duel, Dumbledore admits to Harry that he avoids confronting Grindelwald directly for so long because he's afraid of learning exactly who casts the spell that kills Ariana.

The two most recent "Fantastic Beasts" movies directly expand on these ideas, affirming that Dumbledore and Grindelwald are romantically involved during the summer they first meet in Godric's Hollow. In "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore," Dumbledore himself goes as far as to say that he and Grindelwald fall in love during their days dreaming up a world in which they can establish wizard dominance over the non-magical community. 

One notable plot point in the new movie takes what is initially understood as Dumbledore's own reluctance to fight Grindelwald even further, adding its own magical twist.

In the climax to "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald," Newt's Niffler steals a curious vial off Grindelwald that audiences learn is a blood pact that Dumbledore and Grindelwald make much earlier to physically prevent them from fighting one another. The new movie, "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore," further expands on this. 

While Dumbledore spends time in between the two movies trying to learn how to destroy the pact, he shows Newt and Theseus Scamander (Callum Turner) that the vial and the chain attached that he wears around his arm will quickly kill him if he so much as thinks about attacking Grindelwald. This complication leaves the Hogwarts professor stuck on the sidelines, acting sort of like a coach to Newt, Theseus, and the rest of the group they assemble to help prevent Grindelwald's rise to power in the international wizarding community — until the film's climax.

Credence (Ezra Miller), fresh from learning that he is Aberforth Dumbledore's (Richard Coyle) long-lost son, finally turns against Grindelwald at the meeting of wizarding world leaders in Bhutan, helping Newt and Dumbledore expose the villain's plot to deceive the community into handing him power. Grindelwald attempts to kill Credence in response, but both Dumbledore brothers cast spells meant to deflect Grindelwald's curse and protect Credence. When the spells meet, the resulting impact destroys the blood pact for good, enabling Dumbledore to engage Grindelwald in a brief battle. 

While Grindelwald gets away, the blood pact's breaking enables Dumbledore to track down his former lover and fight him himself, setting the stage for their final 1945 duel — if the series makes it to that point.