There's More Leta Lestrange For 'Fantastic Beasts'

Like any good fan of the Harry Potter universe, I am chomping at the bit for the next installment of Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them to hit theaters. One major reason for this is because I want to know how Leta Lestrange figures into Fantastic Beasts 2. Will we simply see her in flashbacks or if she will pop up in real life? Is she going to be an actual villain (we all know about that other infamous Lestrange in the Harry Potter canon) I mean, she has to, right? She's being played by Zoë Kravitz, a modern icon and rising star. Kravitz wouldn't allow herself to simply get relegated to flashbacks. No way, no how.

Kravitz revealed the tiniest of interesting details on what we can expect to see of Leta in Fantastic Beasts 2 in a new interview with Collider. While the interview was initially focused on her role on the HBO hit mini-series, Big Little Lies, Kravitz was able to discuss bits and pieces about her involvement in the upcoming sequel to Fantastic Beasts. Kravitz said that even she may be involved in more than one of the franchise's planned installments, she didn't quite know what to make of her character when she auditioned:

COLLIDER: You’re also a part of the Fantastic Beasts films, and we hear your role is going to be even bigger in the sequel.

KRAVITZ: Yeah, it’s very exciting! Yeah, it wasn’t much, in the first one.

Sadly, Kravitz didn't tell Collider exactly how many of the Fantastic Beasts films she would be involved with. What gives?

What this tiny reveal does give us, the Fantastic Beasts fans, is plenty of ideas about how Leta will be introduced and whether or not she is villain material. Being the distant relative of Bellatrix Lestrange implies that Leta could be villainous herself, a fact further backed up by the fact that we know from the first Fantastic Beasts that Leta took (ostensibly emotionally) from Newt. Hufflepuffs, blessed creatures they may be, are the eternal givers of the wizarding world, so knowing that Newt might have been emotionally taken advantage of by Leta just breaks my heart. Yet its this kind of emotional treachery that is the perfect breeding ground for a villain. With Gellert Grindelwald still in the picture but potentially incarcerated, Fantastic Beasts needs a formidable antagonist.

Additionally, we have a love triangle now set up in Fantastic Beasts. With Leta on the fringes and Newt and Porpentina currently dancing around officially becoming a couple (although we know they're endgame), Fantastic Beasts could bring Leta into future installments as a romantic rival. She could pose a harmless romantic threat to Newt and Porpentina while — hopefully — being utilized for some greater purpose, like fighting Grindelwald.

The future of Fantastic Beasts is still unknown when it comes to plot; even murkier is the future of Leta Lestrange. At this point, I am might curious to see how it all pans out.