Dumbledore finally fights Grindelwald in intense new Fantastic Beasts 3 trailer

The wizarding world showdown Harry Potter fans have been waiting to see realized on screen is... still not here. But a precursor battle we didn't know was coming is revealed in the latest trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.

After the events of the first two Fantastic Beasts movies, which made clear that Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) could not move on the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen), the new footage sees the two having a meeting of the minds. Not only that, but they actually duel, which is a pretty significant moment when you consider their history.

It doesn't, however, appear to be happening in the real world. The trailer sees first a meeting between the wizards in what could be a dream world or some kind of magical plane of existence, hence all the silvery energy floating around them. Later, we see them in magical combat in the same kind of space. What is this space, exactly? That's for scholars to deduce.

Here's where we push up our Oculus Reparo-ed glasses and dive into some Potter lore.

Dumbledore used to be childhood besties with Grindelwald, though Dumbledore seemed to have more affection and a romantic attraction to Grindelwald than was reciprocated. The two shared a vision of creating a world in which witches and wizards didn't hide from Muggles, but presided over a new benevolent world. Their falling out came as a result of a three-way duel between them and Dumbledore's brother Aberforth that ended up killing his sister.

As far as we knew, Dumbledore and Grindelwald didn't meet until 1945, when Dumbledore famously defeated Grindelwald in a duel and took the Elder Wand. The previous movies revealed that this was because the men struck a magical blood pact that prevented one from moving against the other. According to this new Fantastic Beasts 3 trailer, that information wasn't entirely correct.

For casual Potter fans, all that is to say is that their confrontation is pretty significant.

The Secrets of Dumbledore sees Magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) leading a team of witches, wizards, and his Muggle friend Jacob (Dan Fogler) on a mission to thwart Grindelwald's plans of seizing control of the wizarding world.

Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, William Nadylam, Callum Turner, Jessica Williams, Victoria Yeates, Poppy Corby-Tuech, and Fiona Glascott reprise their roles from the previous films, while Maria Fernanda Cândido, Richard Coyle, Oliver Masucci, and Valerie Pachner join as newcomers.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, directed by David Yates, is slated to hit theaters April 15.

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