STACK #213 July 2022

FEATURE MOVIE

FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND PCR TESTS. When the second instalment, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald , was met with a lacklustre reception, J.K. Rowling was given more time to polish the screenplay for the third movie. Low and behold, the pandemic struck and she suddenly found herself with no shortage of time to work on the script.

Fantastic Beasts:The Secrets of Dumbledore raises the stakes for Newt Scamander and his team as they take on the might of the dark wizard Grindelwald, whose bid for world domination is close to completion. Words Bec Summer I t’s been 25 years since Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone first hit bookshelves, launching a juggernaut of fandom. J.K. immediately gives the story maturity beyond its predecessors. WIZARDING WORLDWAR

Albus Dumbledore provides plenty of talking points, which signal the film’s title. Veteran director David Yates returns to the series for his seventh Wizarding World entry, bringing the story as close to reality as possible, with a high stakes bid for world domination that parallels the muggle world of the 1930s. The franchise has certainly come a long way – from the cartoon-like escapades of The Philosopher’s Stone to the hellish threat of The Secrets of Dumbledore ! To bookend both those movies is to present a stark contrast that only nine other installments can bridge and, for long-serving fans, it reflects and represents a personal evolution of their own. In fact, you can mark each installment of the Wizarding World with a pencil mark on the cornice of the doorframe. Earlier this year Warner Bros. announced that it had greenlit two more installments in the series, which will reportedly take the story through to the end of WWII... and beyond? Watch this space.

As war looms over the muggle world, an evil rises within the parallel wizarding world, with Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) standing at a moral crossroads – he must decide at which point he abandons his bipartisan standpoint for the benefit of all kind. Enlisting the help of magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) and his cohort of friends, Dumbledore sends them on a globetrotting mission to far off magical communities – Germany, Bhutan and China – with the goal of stopping Grindelwald’s increasing power. The Secrets of Dumbledore is bigger and worldlier than the series has ever been before, taking the Wizarding World to dizzying new heights – not only in a geographical sense, but also socially. New layers of awareness and cultural allegory have been woven into the story, and the sentiment of J.K. Rowling’s universe is increasingly diverse and aware. These welcome components add richness to the series and provide food for thought, given Rowling’s tumultuous past few years in the public eye. With former Bond villain Mads Mikkelsen

Rowling’s story of the boy wizard and his band of magical misfits dazzled a generation who have since grown up alongside these beloved characters. We are, perhaps, living in the most nostalgic era of all time, where the crossing from childhood to adulthood has become indefinite for an entire generation. Our lives are intrinsically connected to our youth, nurtured by pop culture and fulfilled by comic book conventions, merchandise shows, and legacy filmmaking. Those kids of the Harry Potter age hold all that is Hogwarts near and dear to their hearts, and upon recognising the symmetry of her maturing characters with their audience, Rowling set about further exploring her Wizarding World, creating all-new characters and stories for those same fans who are now, themselves, adults. The third installment of the Fantastic Beasts series, The Secrets of Dumbledore takes place in the lead-up to World War II, which

( Casino Royale ) stepping into Grindelwald’s shoes following the departure of Johnny Depp, the character has been reimagined with added context. His physical appearance has been normalised and his connection to Jude Law’s

• Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is out on July 6

Mads Mikkelsen as Grindelwald

DON'T MISS

Jude Law as Albus Dumbledore

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