Harry Potter Characters Not In 'Fantastic Beasts'

There are so many questions to be asking about Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the new movie set in the Harry Potter universe, and one of the biggest is about how much of a relationship the film will have with the original Harry Potter series. It definitely seems like the series will be building out elements of the original universe that fans haven't yet gotten to see on film, but are any original Harry Potter characters in Fantastic Beasts ?

Since the film takes place in 1926, a full 36 years before even James Potter was born (let alone our boy Harry), viewers won't be encountering any of the original characters they know from the Harry Potter movie series in Fantastic Beasts. It will be a completely new set of personalities, made even fresher and more original by the fact that the protagonist, the British Newt Scamandar (played by Eddie Redmayne) will spend most of the film across the pond in New York City.

Viewers will get a glimpse of the magical world of the United States and its uniquely American witches and wizards, which is something the Harry Potter films definitely lacked. New faces include the characters of Percival Graves, played by Colin Farrell, Porpentina Goldstein, played by Katherine Waterstone, and Credence, played by Ezra Miller.

Just because the new Fantastic Beasts movie won't be giving you any of your favorite characters (or actors) in the flesh, that doesn't mean that there might not be other ties to the original series, though. After all, fans of the series know elements of wizarding history that go back for centuries. Even protagonist Scamander was mentioned in the original series as the author of the book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which Harry and his classmates had to read for school.

And clever fans will note that even though 1926 is long before Harry, Ron, and Hermione were born, many of the older characters from the original series were indeed alive during that time. The closest pangs of recognition and comfort viewers are likely to experience are those that come when Fantastic Beasts' characters mention the names of those well-known characters. Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald (who appears in the film), were both young men in 1926, and members of other wizarding families — ancestors of characters from the Harry Potter series — viewers will recognize by name come up as well.

And if that's not enough, director David Yates has confirmed, as The Sun reports, that a younger version of Albus Dumbledore will be appearing in the upcoming installments of the Fantastic Beasts series. “In the second movie Dumbledore comes back," Yates said, piquing interest by noting that Dumbledore has "got a couple of good scenes with Newt.” Yates also said that the actor playing Dumbledore has not yet been cast, and "any suggestions would be good!”

Dumbledore's best friend from his younger years, Grindelwald —who readers know mostly from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — will also appear in the next Fantastic Beasts movie, and will be played by Johnny Depp. According to The Sun, in discussing his choice to cast the actor, Yates said, "Johnny Depp is a real artist. He’s created several characters who have really resonated in our popular culture. He’s a really brilliant, brilliant actor."

There's no news yet on whether any other original Harry Potter characters will be in the sequels to Fantastic Beasts, but it's exciting enough to think about not just what Dumbledore is up to while Scamandar is on his adventures in New York City, but also who will be playing him when we finally get to meet him in later films.

Images: Warner Bros. Pictures