‘Fantastic Beasts 3’ Plot Causes J.K. Rowling to Trend Amid Antisemitic Fears

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'Fantastic Beasts' star Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander

Credit: Warner Bros.

Harry Potter fans have been waiting — and waiting — for details about Fantastic Beasts 3, the third installment in Warner Bros.’ Harry Potter spinoff movie franchise.

Fantastic Beasts
Credit: Warner Bros.

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Now, Harry Potter series author J.K. Rowling is trending (again) for the wrong reasons (again) due to a synopsis of the upcoming film that suggests Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (April 15, 2022) will have a World War II setting:

Several years after the events of The Crimes of Grindelwald, the story takes place partly in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and partly in Berlin, Germany and leads up to the Wizarding World’s involvement in World War II. With Grindelwald’s power rapidly growing, Albus Dumbledore entrusts Newt Scamander and his friends on a mission that will lead to a clash with Grindelwald’s army, and will lead Dumbledore to ponder how long he will stay on the sidelines in the approaching war.

Fantastic Beasts
Credit: Warner Bros.

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Social media users are concerned that Rowling’s views and prior depictions of characters may impact the presentation of Jewish people in the highly-anticipated movie, which will feature Mads Mikkelsen in the role of Gellert Grindelwald after Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean) was fired amid his ongoing legal drama with ex-wife Amber Heard.

Fantastic Beasts
Credit: Warner Bros.

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Ben Fletcher wrote:

Her own hateful comments and actions show @jk_rowling is transphobic. But more than that, whether consciously or not, the Harry Potter series is filled with examples of everything from body shaming to anti-Semitism, sexism to sexual harassment, and stereotyping to racism

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Havana Syndrome shared a screenshot of the aforementioned synopsis with the caption:

i’m sure JK rowling will tackle the subject with all her well-known finesse and tact

The ADORABLE CoffeeCat replied:

“I’m not a bigot” Says JK Rowling, “The tweet where I directly said ‘you had to hand it to the Nazi wizards’ was taken out of context and I will sue anyone who dares to directly quote me or insinuate anti-semitism”

Related: Mads Mikkelsen Isn’t Sure If Johnny Depp’s Firing “Was Fair”

Brad Brown echoed the above sentiments, posting:

I’m sure we can all trust JK Rowling to handle such a delicate topic with careful understanding and sensitivi— <hand to earpiece> well ok then.

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At this time, of course, the concerns about how the plot of the upcoming Dumbledore-centric movie will be handled remain pure speculation.

This third installment in the Fantastic Beasts universe is the sequel to Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018). It will star Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Ezra Miller, Callum Turner, William Nadylam, Poppy Corby-Tuech, Jessica Williams, Jude Law, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, and, as noted, Mads Mikkelsen.

Fantastic Beasts
Credit: Warner Bros.

Related: Why Grindelwald Is More Dangerous Than Voldemort

The movie will be set several years after The Crimes of Grindelwald, and it is expected to follow a young Albus Dumbledore providing Newt Scamander and his companions with a task that that will lead them on an undercover mission into Grindelwald’s dark army.

If you are interested in seeing more of what fans are saying, visit Twitter and look for “J.K. Rowling” in the “Trending” section.

What are your thoughts on Fantastic Beasts 3?

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