Fans of the Harry Potter franchise are voicing their outrage after learning that Albus Dumbledore’s homosexuality will not be explicitly addressed in the next Fantastic Beasts movie, even though author J.K. Rowling has clearly stated that he is gay.
Director David Yates revealed in an interview yesterday that Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald will not feature the romantic feelings of Dumbledore for the title villain.
Rowling, who wrote the screenplay for the upcoming movie, first mentioned Dumbledore’s homosexuality during a talk at New York City’s Carnegie Hall in 2007, the year the final Harry Potter volume was published.
Say what? Fans are voicing their outrage after learning that Albus Dumbledore’s homosexuality will not be explicitly addressed in the next Fantastic Beasts movie
Why bother? Twitter users took to the platform to voice their disappointment after director David Yates said in an interview yesterday the film won’t make it clear that Dumbledore is gay
Missing piece: Although the new Fantastic Beasts installment will focus on Dumbledore’s efforts to take down Grindelwald, it will not portray Dumbledore’s feelings for the dark wizard
‘I always thought of Dumbledore as gay. Dumbledore fell in love with Grindelwald, and that added to his horror when Grindelwald showed himself to be what he was,’ she told fans at the time.
Although the new Fantastic Beasts installment will focus on Dumbledore (Jude Law) and Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne)’s efforts to take down Grindelwald (Johhny Depp), it will not portray Dumbledore’s feelings for the dark wizard.
Asked whether the movie would make it clear that Dumbledore is gay, Yates replied: ‘Not explicitly.’
‘But I think all the fans are aware of that,’ he told Entertainment Weekly. ‘He had a very intense relationship with Grindelwald when they were young men. They fell in love with each other’s ideas, and ideology and each other.’
Many fans of the Harry Potter franchise were already disappointed that the beloved character’s homosexuality wasn’t explicitly addressed in the books, viewing it as a missed opportunity for LGBT representation.
Some were counting on the movie to fill that gap, and were bitterly disappointed when they learned that wouldn’t be the case.
‘If you’re not going to make Young Dumbledore’s sexuality explicitly clear in Fantastic Beasts then why even bother with this film at all tbh?’ someone tweeted.
Another person added: ‘I guess Dumbledore’s homosexuality is one of the Fantastic Beasts, cause you need a f*****g manual to find it.’
Not happy: The upcoming Fantastic Beasts movie had already faced backlash due to the decision to cast Depp as Grindelwald, after he was accused of domestic violence
Missed opportunity: Many were already disappointed that Dumbledore’s homosexuality wasn’t openly depicted in the books and counted on the movie to fill that gap
Statement: Rowling to the controversy surrounding the portrayal of Dumbledore’s sexuality on Twitter, ending her message with a GIF of the rapper Lil Yachty stating: ‘Mute’
Movies featuring openly gay characters have a history of being censored. Last year, a Russian lawmaker sought to ban the new Beauty And The Beast movie because of its gay character, Gaston’s sidekick Le Fou.
Beauty And The Beast was also banned in Malaysia and in Kuwait for the same reason, and a drive-in movie theater in Henagar, Alabama, pledged not to show it.
The upcoming Fantastic Beasts movie had already faced backlash due to the decision to cast Depp as Grindelwald, after he was accused of domestic violence by his now ex-wife Amber Heard.
Now, the casting decision and the treatment of Dumbledore’s homosexuality have both meshed into a bitter pill to swallow for many potential viewers.
‘I’m trying to wait until I see the new Fantastic Beasts to pass judgement but between this and the Johnny Depp situation, I’m more annoyed than excited,’ one person wrote on Twitter.
Someone else joked that they were ‘glad’ the team behind the movie had decided to omit Dumbledore’s feelings for Grindelwald, because it made their decision not to see it ‘much easier.’
Others insisted that not depicting Dumbledore’s feelings for Grindelwald doesn’t make sense plot-wise, with someone writing: ‘I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that the Fantastic Beasts movie is ignoring that Dumbledore was gay and in love with Grindelwald… like… Dumbledore is fighting the guy he had feelings for. How do you ignore that?’
Rowling, who previously defended the decision to cast Depp as one of the movie’s protagonists, reacted to the controversy surrounding the portrayal of Dumbledore’s sexuality on Twitter.
‘Being sent abuse about an interview that didn’t involve me, about a screenplay I wrote but which none of the angry people have read, which is part of a five-movie series that’s only one installment in, is obviously tons of fun,’ she wrote. ‘but you know what’s even *more* fun?’
She ended her message with a GIF of rapper Lil Yachty stating: ‘Mute.’