Warner Bros. released the official trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.
The trailer features Newt Scamander seeking Albus Dumbledore in an effort to stop Gellert Grindelwald, and that journey eventually leads them to the infamous Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The official trailer came just days after its release date was announced by Warner Bros. with an official clip celebrating the impact of the Harry Potter franchise, which briefly included new footage from the upcoming film. While there wasn't much new footage in the clip, it did offer a first look at Mads Mikkelson as Gellert Grindelwald, who will be replacing Johnny Depp in the franchise. Depp first appeared as Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, but later stepped down from the role per request from Warner Bros. following lawsuits surrounding his divorce from Amber Heard.
"I mean, obviously, they were going to do the film, and obviously [Depp] was not involved any more," Mikkelsen said regarding his new role. "But I didn't have a dog in that fight. And I don't know what happened [in his private life], and I don't know if it was fair, him losing the job, but I just knew that the show was going on, and I would've loved to have talked to him about it if I had the chance, but I just don't know him in that sense.
The Secrets of Dumbledore stars Jude Law as a young Albus Dumbledore during his days as a professor at Hogwarts, who called the film "one of the biggest productions I've ever worked on." Regarding the recasting of Grindelwald, Law said, "And in a situation like this, you defer to the studio. That's all you can do. Because you have to turn up and play your part. It was unusual for me because, in fact, on this particular role, Johnny had actually only done a day's filming."
Warner Bros. debuted the official title for The Secrets of Dumbledore in September along with the announcement that the film would be bumped up to April 15, 2022. This is nearly two months earlier than the film's originally intended premiere date of July 15, despite the production experiencing production delays due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Based on the Harry Potter companion book of the same name, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them premiered in 2016 as a prequel to the original Harry Potter films, and stars Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander. Its sequel, The Crimes of Grindelwald, premiered in 2018. The Secrets of Dumbledore will see Redmayne return as Newt, as well as Katherine Waterston as Tina Goldstein, Dan Fogler as Jacob Kowalski and Ezra Miller as Credence Barebone/Aurelius Dumbledore. Actor Richard Coyle has also been reported to join the cast as Albus Dumbledore's brother, Aberforth.