Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

Plot[edit]

In 1927, as the Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA) is transferring the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald to Europe to stand trial, Grindelwald escapes. Three months later in London, Newt Scamander requests the Ministry of Magic lift his international travel ban. While there, he runs into former Hogwarts classmate Leta Lestrange, his brother Theseus' fiancée. The Ministry will grant Newt's request if he agrees to help Theseus locate Credence Barebone, who is in Paris. Newt declines after learning he must work with ruthless bounty hunter Gunnar Grimmson. Albus Dumbledore (revealed to have indirectly but intentionally sent Newt to New York) also asks Newt to find Credence, believing Credence is Leta's long-lost half-brother, Corvus Lestrange V.


Newt is visited by his American friends Queenie Goldstein and Jacob Kowalski, a non-magical person. Jacob has regained his memories that were erased the previous year. Newt learns that Queenie's sister Tina Goldstein mistakenly believed Newt and Leta were engaged and began seeing someone else. Newt realizes that Queenie enchanted Jacob and came to London to circumvent the marriage ban between wizards and non-magical people. After Newt lifts the enchantment, Jacob refuses to marry Queenie, fearing the consequences she would face. Upset, Queenie leaves to find Tina, who is searching for Credence in Paris. Newt and Jacob follow soon after, using a magical transport method to get around Newt's ban on international travel.


In Paris, Credence escapes the Circus Arcanus with captive performer Nagini, a woman cursed to permanently transform into a snake. Searching for Credence's birth mother, they locate half-elf servant Irma Dugard, who brought him to America for adoption. Grimmson, secretly a Grindelwald follower, kills Irma before she reveals who sent her. Tina meets Yusuf Kama, who is also hunting Credence. Newt and Jacob trail Yusuf to Tina, finding her being held hostage. Yusuf also imprisons them, explaining he made an Unbreakable Vow to kill his half-brother, whom he believes is Credence. Meanwhile, a distraught Queenie is brought to Grindelwald; knowing Queenie's abilities, he allows her to leave while manipulating her into joining him through her desire to marry Jacob.


Newt and Tina escape from Yusuf and infiltrate the French Ministry of Magic to search for documents confirming Credence's identity, but Leta and Theseus discover them. Newt and Tina reunite after Newt explains he was never engaged to Leta. They go to the Lestrange family tomb and find Yusuf confronting Credence and Nagini. Yusuf reveals that he is carrying out his father Mustafa's request to avenge his mother Laurena: she was kidnapped by Corvus Lestrange IV using the Imperius Curse, and died giving birth to Leta, Yusuf's half-sister. Corvus IV remarried and had Corvus V. He sent Corvus V to America for adoption to keep him safe after discovering Yusuf's revenge plot. Leta reveals that she unintentionally caused Corvus V's death: sailing to America, Leta, unable to stand his constant crying, switched her baby brother with another infant, Credence; the ship sank, and Corvus drowned.


The group enter a rally of Grindelwald's followers. Jacob is searching for Queenie, who is among the attendees. Grindelwald displays a vision of a future global war, and rails against laws prohibiting wizards from preventing such a tragedy. As Theseus and the Aurors surround the rally, Grindelwald prompts his followers to spread his message across Europe. He conjures a ring of blue fire that kills the retreating Aurors and that only his most loyal followers can safely cross. Queenie and Credence cross the fire despite Jacob's and Nagini's protests, while Leta sacrifices herself to allow others to escape. As Grindelwald and his followers depart, the remaining wizards and immortal alchemist Nicolas Flamel extinguish the fire. Newt joins the fight against Grindelwald.


At Hogwarts, Newt presents Dumbledore with a vial that Newt's niffler stole from Grindelwald. It contains a blood pact Grindelwald and Dumbledore made in their youth that prevents them dueling each other; Dumbledore believes it can be destroyed. At Nurmengard Castle, his Austrian base, Grindelwald presents Credence with a wand along with his phoenix, and reveals Credence's possible identity: Aurelius Dumbledore.^[6]

Carmen Ejogo briefly reprises her role as Seraphina Picquery, the President of MACUSA, from the first film. Brontis Jodorowsky portrays Nicolas Flamel, a 14th-century, 600-year-old Parisian scribe and alchemist believed to have discovered the Philosopher's Stone, who is a friend and colleague of Dumbledore. The character was mentioned previously in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.^[15] Fiona Glascott portrays a young Minerva McGonagall. Poppy Corby-Tuech portrays Vinda Rosier, Grindelwald's loyal right-hand woman.^[15] Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson portrays Grimmson, a powerful bounty hunter. Ólafur Darri Ólafsson portrays Skender, the cruel head and ringmaster of Circus Arcanus.^[15] Late French actress Danielle Hugues portrays Irma Dugard, Corvus' half-elf nanny.^[16] David Sakurai appears as Krall, Grindelwald's ambitious and sulky henchman.^[17] Victoria Yeates portrays Bunty, Newt Scamander's assistant.^[18] Maja Bloom portrays Carrow, a Grindelwald follower, Jessica Williams portrays Lally Hicks, a teacher of Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry who contacts Flamel. Isaura Barbé-Brown portrays Laurena Kama, who is Yusuf Kama and Leta Lestrange's mother.^[19] Derek Riddell, Wolf Roth and Cornell John portray Torquil Travers, Spielman and Arnold Guzman, respectively.^[10] Keith Chanter plays Corvus Lestrange IV, Corvus V's father.