J.K. Rowling On Key “Beasts” Relationship
When J.K. Rowling speaks, Potter-fanatics listen and the celebrated “Harry Potter” author has touched upon one of the elements of the franchise that has become a key part of it after the main book series finished – that of the Dumbledore-Grindelwald dynamic.
Last year’s “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” the second of the five prequel movies Rowling has planned for the series, introduced Jude Law’s younger Dumbledore to the series but also offered the hints at the at least partly romantic relationship the character once shared with the prequel series’ main villain Grindelwald (Johnny Depp). That back history plays a part in Dumbledore’s actions in the film.
As part of a new feature on the film this week, Rowling has offered some new comments to
Radio Times which expands her thoughts on that relationship and potentially hint at how the future films will deal with it.
Previously, Rowling suggested the pair were in a relationship during their teenage years though the suggestion was the gay Dumbledore was infatuated with Grindelwald who exploited that desire for his own evil ends. Now though, Rowling suggests the pairing was more of a mutual one:
“Their relationship was incredibly intense. It was passionate, and it was a love relationship. But as happens in any relationship, gay or straight or whatever label we want to put on it, one never knows really what the other person is feeling. You can’t know, you can believe you know.
So I’m less interested in the sexual side – though I believe there is a sexual dimension to this relationship – than I am in the sense of the emotions they felt for each other, which ultimately is the most fascinating thing about all human relationships.”
The film’s director David Yates adds: “This is a story about two men who loved each other, and ultimately have to fight each other. It’s a story for the 21st century.” As Rowling has been penning the scripts herself for the new films, it suggests the relationship and ultimate conflict will become a more central part of the narrative going forward – especially in relation to the events seen in the final moments of ‘Crimes’.