Harry Potter character’s introduction into Fantastic Beasts 2 doesn’t mess up canon

The introduction of a iconic Harry Potter character in Fantastic Beasts 2 has been criticized for messing up canon, that isn’t actually true.

Please be aware that this post contains a huge spoiler in regards to a specific Harry Potter character being introduced in Fantastic Beasts 2. Those wishing to remain spoiler free should not read any further and click the back button. Just remember to come back once you have seen the movie.

Ok, so if you are still here then I guess we are good to go and discuss the criticism surrounding this character, and how it just plain wrong to do so.

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As you will be aware, or if you are not you are about to be, Professor McGonagall will make an appearance in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. The beloved Harry Potter character is to be played by Irish actress Fiona Glascott, according to the initial report when the news broke, as a younger version of the famous Professor.

This revelation has caused much head scratching because Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is set in 1927 according to the official Pottermore timeline and it is believed that McGonagall wasn’t born until 1935.

However, some have gone as far as to call this as “breaking Harry Potter canon.” Which, to be polite, is just a load of garbage. It doesn’t break canon, at all. It debunks our assumptions yes, but McGonagall being born in 1935 is not actually canon.

Yes, if you Google, “How old is Professor McGonagall?” it will return with an answer of 1935. That year is what is noted in Harry Potter Wiki.

Harry Potter Wiki is not canon. It suffers from the same flaws as Wikipedia, where anyone can go in and edit the information on the page. You can if you feel the need go into Harry Potter Wiki and change McGonagall’s date of birth if you want to. It’s not hard, you just need to create an account, and then take the time to edit all the required fields.

Image Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc

Now whomever first entered that 1935 date didn’t pluck it out of thin air, they go the year from somewhere. And that somewhere is from the fact you can actually work out roughly, from the writings of J.K. Rowling, when McGonagall might have been born. Again though, still not canon, just our best guess.

The only source for canon material is Pottermore. And if you visit Pottermore, you will see that a year of birth has not been noted for Professor McGonagall. So technically the canon answer to when she was born, is we don’t know. The assumption is 1935 but it has never officially been stated.

Also, apart from those who have already see the movie, we don’t even know when this moment takes place. It could be a flash forward moment of some type, so it could very well stick to the timeline of 1935. Plus the fact that it is a magical world where pretty much anything goes means any other weird and wonderful possibility are possible.

At the end of the day, regardless of how it might work, to call this Fantastic Beasts 2 moment “breaking Harry Potter canon” is completely wrong, because 1935 was never canon in the first place.

The other thing to consider as well, is does it really matter? In the grand scheme of things, how does this matter?

What view have you taken on Professor McGonagall appearing in Fantastic Beasts 2? Drop a comment below with your thoughts.