Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald reveals a surprise origin – CNET

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald’s final trailer posted Tuesday reveals the surprising origin of one of Voldemort’s closest allies.

Actress Claudia Kim is playing the human form of Nagini… yes the snake and eventual Horcrux aligned with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. In Fantastic Beasts, which takes place decades before Potter’s even been born, Nagini is a “Maledictus”. She starts out as a human who’s able to transform into a snake, but is cursed to eventually remain a snake for the rest of her life, reports Entertainment Weekly.

Kim told EW that her character starts out as a member of the traveling Circus Arcane. It’s there that she meets Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller), who’s joined the circus after the events of the first Fantastic Beasts film.

“You’ve only seen her as a Horcrux. In this, she’s a wonderful and vulnerable woman who wants to live. She wants to stay a human being and I think that’s a wonderful contrast to the character,” Kim said.

This final trailer also includes the younger Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) looking to the Mirror of Erised and seeing even younger versions of himself and Gellert Grindelwald, along with the older version of Grindelwald played by Johnny Depp. Rowling said way back in 2007 that Dumbledore had romantic feelings toward Grindelwald, and it’s looking like The Crimes of Grindelwald will be the first Harry Potter story to hash out the complicated relationship between the Hogwarts leader and the dark wizard.

Also making his first appearance is Newt Scamander’s (Eddie Redmayne) brother Theseus (Callum Turner), the latter whom is seen asking Newt to pick a side. Newt however does not want to.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald will release in Australia on Nov. 15 and in the US along with the UK on Nov. 16.