Jude Law Hints At What To Expect From Grindelwald & Dumbledore In 'Fantastic Beasts 2'

Those who wondered about how Dumbledore and Grindelwald would interact in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, wonder no more. Jude Law has spoken out on the matter during a recent Entertainment Weekly interview, revealing that Grindelwald and Dumbledore don't interact in Fantastic Beasts 2 and share zero scenes together, further confirming that their romantic relationship won't be a major focal point of the story — at least not yet, anyway.

When it was originally announced that Jude Law would play a young Dumbledore in the Fantastic Beasts sequel, the casting was met with an overwhelming amount of positive feedback. However, the franchise faced a bit of backlash after director David Yates revealed to EW that Dumbledore won't be "explicitly" gay in the Harry Potter prequel — a storyline that many fans were hoping to see get explored. While some fans might have been hopeful that the sequel would course-correct after the backlash, Law seems to shoot down any hope of audiences catching a glimpse of the Dumbledore-Grindelwald love story.

"I don’t actually have any scenes with Johnny," Law told the outlet, referring, of course, to Johnny Depp, who is playing Grindelwald in the films despite the controversy surrounding his casting. "What you got to remember this is only the second Fantastic Beasts film in a series and what’s brilliant about Jo’s writing is how she reveals her characters, peels them to the heart over time." So even though Dumbledore's sexuality may not be explicitly stated in The Crimes of Grindelwald, Law assures fans that his character's story is only just getting started.

"You’re just getting to know Albus in this film, and there’s obviously a lot more to come," Law continued during the same interview. "We learn a little about his past in the beginning of this film, and characters and their relationships will unfold naturally which I’m excited to reveal. But we’re not going to reveal everything all at once."

J.K. Rowling herself has addressed the controversy involving Dumbledore's sexuality, tweeting out on Jan. 31: "Being sent abuse about an interview that didn't involve me, about a screenplay I wrote but which none of the angry people have read, which is part of a five-movie series that's only one instalment [sic] in, is obviously tons of fun," she wrote. "But you know what's even *more* fun?" Below this caption she provided a gif of Lil Yachty with the word "MUTE" on it.

Even with the hope of it being addressed down the line, though, many still feel like it's a missed opportunity to represent such a positive figure of the LGBTQ community, a group that is already severely underrepresented in the industry. In fact, a 2017 GLAAD study found that only 18.4 percent of the 125 major releases that came out in 2016 had LGBT characters. So many are understandably eager to see such a complex relationship like Dumbledore and Grindelwald's get explored.

Rowling and Law both seem interested in addressing this plot point later down the road and appear to claim that it's simply too early in the story to see that part of the beloved Hogwarts Headmaster come to fruition. Furthermore, as Law attempted to point out during his chat with EW, Dumbledore being gay is merely one part of who he is. "Your sexuality doesn’t necessarily define you," Law explained. "[Dumbledore]’s multifaceted." That's true. A person's sexuality is but one facet of who they are as an individual, though that shouldn't become a reason to ignore it altogether.

If there was really no room to include the romantic details of Grindelwald and Dumbledore's past in this particular film, then that's something we'll have to come to terms with, since it's likely too late to change things now. Maybe we just have to trust in Rowling and the bigger over-arching story she and Yates are trying to tell — just so long as it does get covered eventually. To ignore that part of who Dumbledore is would be just as much of a disservice to the character as it would making his sexuality the only defining aspect about him.

Fans deserve to see every side of Dumbledore on both a personal and professional level. Settling for anything else would just be riddikulus.