‘Harry Potter’ Fans Are Upset That Dumbledore Will Be ‘Not Explicitly’ Gay In ‘Fantastic Beasts’ Sequel

One of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling’s biggest it-was-never-mentioned-in-the-books-but-it’s-canon revelations was making Albus Dumbledore gay. “Dumbledore fell in love with Grindelwald, and that added to his horror when Grindelwald showed himself to be what he was,” she explained in 2007. It meant so much to Rowling that during a script read for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Rowling slid a note to scriptwriter Steve Kloves asking him to get rid of a line where Dumbledore tells Harry that he “knew a girl once.”

But in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, which stars Jude Law as the Young Dumblepope and Johnny Depp as his former lover Gellert Grindelwald, the future Hogwarts headmaster’s sexuality will not be explored or even mentioned, at least “not explicitly,” according to director David Yates.

“But I think all the fans are aware of that,” he continued. “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.” It’s weird for Fantastic Beasts 2 to keep Dumbledore and Grindelwald’s fling subtext, considering it’s a movie about warring ex-lovers, but especially with the “all fans are aware of that” reasoning. If they’re aware, why should it be treated like a shameful secret

Needless to say, many Potterheads are not pleased with this decision.

— Kevin O'Keeffe (@kevinpokeeffe) January 31, 2018

Honestly this is the perfect example of what I'm talking about. NOT saying Dumbledore is gay on-screen isn't just "not taking a stance on supporting LGBTQ+ rights," it's actively supporting a status quo that marginalizes queer people. https://t.co/fyKQzae9S4

— Maggs (@SamMaggs) January 31, 2018

We could have had Jude Law as Dumbledore falling in love with Colin Farrell as Grindelwald but NOOOO now y’all trying to pretend like Dumbledore isn’t gay. Get outta here

— rachel leishman (@RachelLeishman) January 31, 2018

me realizing dumbledore isn't "explicitly gay" in the fantastic beasts sequel pic.twitter.com/88hDoJYiEn

— Christian Zamora (@Christian_Zamo) January 31, 2018

David Yates: well, dumbledore won't *explicitly* be …

me: pic.twitter.com/GBhB0T2reT

— Alex Bedder (@itgetsbedder) January 31, 2018

Dumbledore will be exactly as ~canonically gay~ in Fantastic Beasts 2 (2018) as he was in Harry Potter 1 (2001), which is to say: not at all.

— Gavia Baker-Whitelaw (@Hello_Tailor) January 31, 2018

The Crimes of Grindelwald opens on November 16.