They say never go back. But then “they” never had to cope with derisive reviews, tumbling box office receipts and the highly public fall from grace of an A-list star. In the ranks of movies based on the works of JK Rowling, Fantastic Beasts 2: The Crimes of Grindelwald, released in 2018, was the Wizarding World equivalent of that time Neville Longbottom accidentally transplanted his own ears on to a cactus; an episode so muddled and painful that the average Hogwarts student would need a magic spell just to understand what the hell was supposed to be going on and why any of us should care.
And so the saga’s next instalment, The Secrets of Dumbledore, is probably best off harking back to the good old days, when Harry, Ron and Hermione only had to worry about Voldemort’s next appearance rather than the potential cancellation of an entire movie series. Duly, the new trailer for the film arrived this week, and once again we’re heading back to the famous wizarding school. Crimes of Grindelwald also featured some scenes set at Hogwarts, but it looks like this time around the grand old place could play an even bigger part in the action. There’s even a clip of Michael Gambon as Professor Albus Dumbledore, just to remind everyone that this was a very successful movie series once.
