Harry Potter author JK Rowling has answered criticism that Dumbledore won’t be portrayed as “explicitly” gay in upcoming film Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.
The accusations emerged after Beasts director David Yates implied the sexuality of the wizarding teacher played by Jude Law wouldn’t be referenced in the movie. When asked by EW if the film makes clear Dumbledore is gay, Yates replied: “Not explicitly.”
Referencing the close teenage relationship between Dumbledore and wizard-gone-bad Grindelwald (played by Johnny Depp), Yates added: “But I think all the fans are aware of that. [Dumbledore] had a very intense relationship with Grindelwald when they were young men. They fell in love with each other’s ideas, and ideology and each other.”
The comments were criticized by many Twitter users who said the films were unnecessarily shirking an LGBT character.
And others pointed out that Dumbledore’s sexuality would be integral to the franchise’s plot, owing to his intense relationship with Grindelwald.
Then people turned on Fantastic Beasts screenwriter JK Rowling, who, despite explicitly saying Dumbledore was gay in the past, was now being accused of playing down his sexuality.
And now Rowling has tried to pour a calming draught on the situation, saying on Twitter that the comments about Dumbledore were only Yates’ words and that her accusers hadn’t actually seen the screenplay. Pointing out The Crimes of Grindelwald was only one film in the franchise, she also hinted that Dumbledore’s sexuality could play a larger role in later Fantastic Beasts movies.
In other words, even if Dumbledore isn't made explicitly gay in The Crimes of Grindelwald, we'll probably hear more about the relationship between the Hogwarts headteacher and evil wizard in years to come.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald will be released on 16th November 2018
