There was huge excitement when Rowling revealed that the beloved Hogwarts headmaster was gay long before the latest film franchise hit cinemas. With the news that a younger Dumbledore and Grindelwald would be portrayed on screen, fans were hoping to see their tragic love story played out in full. Instead, the first Fantastic Beasts story completely ignored the subject and the second only had passing references to it. Were Warner Bros and Rowling avoiding the subject? The author has just made a strong statement on the subject.
Director David Yates had promised “sensual scenes” between the couple in The Crimes of Grindelwald, but very little materialised, except a short flashback and some longing looks.
Many Harry Potter fans were vocal in their frustration and a bonus feature on The Crimes of Grindelwald Blu-ray DVD discusses the subject of the relationship between the two wizards as young men.
Ayer 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.”
Rowling goes even further.
Rowling says: “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.”
It’s a step forward for fans hoping for confirmation that the couple had a full relationship.
Whether or not it translates onto the screen remains to be seen. There is sensitivity on the subject in family-orientated movies, although the vocal US backlash against a tiny gay glimpse in Beauty and the Beast recently did nothing to harm its box office.
However, filmmakers are still rather wary of alienating the huge Chinese market, which absolutely bans any scenes of a gay nature. Bohemian Rhapsody has just opened their and scenes were cut. The two Fantastic Beasts films performed well in China compared to the rest of the word.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is out now on Digital Download and arrives on 4K, Blu-ray, 3D & DVD on March 18