The final trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald was released today. It was the darkest, best, and most surprising trailer yet. There was a surprise character reveal that I don’t think anybody saw coming; I certainly didn’t.
As the studio decided to include it in the trailer, I won’t say this is a spoiler. But stop reading now if you want to save the surprise for when you see the actual movie.
The trailer is below and my thoughts will follow.
Yes, you heard that right, Nagini. And yes, the woman you see on screen is in fact Nagini. And yes again, the same Nagini that would go on to become one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes. Talk about a surprise! And it should be. There was never any indication in the original series that Nagini was ever anything but a snake. It might come off as sort of a “twist for the sake of a twist” but I’m into it. One, I trust J.K. Rowling completely when it comes to Harry Potter. If she wants to do it, I’m on board. But also, it brings up some interesting questions about Nagini as a character, something nobody (or very few people) had ever given any real consideration.
South Korean Actress Claudia Kim Portrays Nagini The Human
First, some clarification. Nagini is not an Animagus. Rather, she is a Maledictus. A Maledictus is, according to Pottermore:
A female individual whose blood had been cursed from birth, and eventually would lead her to turn into a beast. What manner of beast it might be was entirely dependent on the type of curse they had been afflicted with. The curse, which can be passed down from mother to daughter, can affect a whole family line.
So at some point in time, likely something we’ll see a few movies down the road, Nagini the human will transform for the final time into Nagini the snake. Will she still have parts of her human mind or soul once she turns? Or does the human part of her completely die?
Kim was recently interviewed by Entertainment Weekly about her character. A quote from her is below and you can read the full interview here.
“It will be so interesting to see another side of Nagini,” Kim tells EW. “You’ve only seen her as a Horcrux. In this, she’s a wonderful and vulnerable woman who wants to live. She wants to stay a human being and I think that’s a wonderful contrast to the character.”
This adds some seriously tragic backstory to a character everyone previously thought was nothing more than a snake chosen by Voldemort. To now know that, in reality, she went from an innocent (I think?) human to snake forced to take part in some of Voldemort’s worst acts is heartbreaking.
I’m a huge Harry Potter fan, so I was already beyond excited for this. But after seeing this great new trailer, and seeing this unbelievable character twist, I’m even more amped.
For more Harry Potter coverage, I am working on reflections/look backs/reviews on the movie series. So far only ‘Sorcerer’s Stone’ has been published, and can be found here. And Chris is doing a deep dive into the book series. He has so far released posts on Sorcerer’s Stone, Chamber of Secrets, and Prisoner of Azkaban.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald will be released on November 16.
