Recent reports have revealed that yet another character from the original Harry Potter franchise will make an appearance in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.
The upcoming release of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald has been met with excitement and skepticism from the Harry Potter fandom. The film meshes the story of Newt Scamander with the characters and events from the original franchise, most notably through its inclusion of the feud between Albus Dumbledore and the notorious Gellert Grindelwald.
But it seems that Dumbledore won’t be the only beloved character from Harry Potter’s story to make an appearance in the spinoff films. Pop Culture reported that Minerva McGonagall, Harry’s Transfiguration teacher throughout the original series, will also return in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.
The McGonagall in Fantastic Beasts will obviously be much younger than the one initially portrayed by Maggie Smith, but this reveal has raised a few eyebrows in the Potterverse.
Fans have pointed out that McGonagall wasn’t born until 1935 — nearly a decade after the first Fantastic Beasts installment is set. With that in mind, the film might need to make a few tweaks to the professor’s back story in order to make it fit with the events of Fantastic Beasts.
As CBR points out, this would not be the first alteration the film has made to J.K. Rowling’s original story. The most recent trailer for the film revealed that Voldemort’s snake, Nagini, was actually once a woman — a detail that was never previously disclosed and caused quite an uproar among the fandom.
Controversy aside, it’s unclear what McGonagall’s role in the new film will be. It’s possible she’ll only make a small cameo, a nod to longtime Harry Potter fans who are watching.
But we also know that things tend to connect in the Wizarding World, and it would be interesting to see the filmmakers weave McGonagall’s story into Newt’s somehow. After her demonstration during the Battle of Hogwarts, we also know how skilled McGonagall is on the battlefield. So, fingers crossed that she at least gets an action sequence or two during Fantastic Beasts.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald hits theaters November 16, 2018.