Jude Law spent magical afternoon learning J.K. Rowling’s Dumbledore secrets

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

At times, actors are just about as clueless as the rest of us in regards to the backstories and/or future of their characters, but other times, they have the benefit of sitting down with the creator of whatever universe they're currently inhabiting and getting one hell of an exclusive info-dump. Jude Law is set to play Albus Dumbledore in the upcoming FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD, and while we know much of Dumbledore's history thanks to all the HARRY POTTER material which is already out there, it seems there are still a few secrets waiting to be revealed.

While speaking with ET Online, the actor revealed that when he took the role of Dumbledore, he spent a magical afternoon with J.K. Rowling during which the author laid out the entire history of Dumbledore.

Do you know what I did? I sat in a room for an afternoon with J.K. Rowling, and I listened to her extraordinary words of wisdom. She was kind enough to share with me the whole backstory and her future hopes for this young character of Dumbledore and really that set me on the path. I just did what the writer said.

Oh to be a fly on that wall, with all the tea sipping and secret dropping. As the FANTASTIC BEASTS franchise is expected to span five movies, it's likely that we'll be diving into Dumbledore's backstory on more than one ocassion.

FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD will open in 1927, a few months after the events of the first film in which Newt Scamander helped to capture the infamous dark wizard Grindelwald (Johnny Depp), and, as he promised he would, Grindelwald has made a dramatic escape and has been gathering more followers to his cause — elevating wizards above all non-magical beings. The only one who might be able to stop him is the wizard he once called his dearest friend, Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law). But Dumbledore will need help from the wizard who had thwarted Grindelwald once before, his former student Newt Scamander. The adventure reunites Newt with Tina (Katherine Waterston), Queenie (Alison Sudol) and Jacob (Dan Fogler), but his mission will also test their loyalties as they face new perils in an increasingly dangerous and divided wizarding world.

In addition to the returning characters from the first film, which includes Ezra Miller as the enigmatic Credence, the sequel will also star Claudia Kim as a Maledictus, the carrier of a blood curse that destines her ultimately to transform into a beasts, Callum Turner as Newt's older brother, Theseus Scamander, a celebrated war hero and the Head of the Auror Office at the British Ministry of Magic, and we'll also be properly introduced to Leta Lestrange, played by Zoe Kravitiz, who had once been close to Newt but is now engaged to his brother.

FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD will hit theaters on November 16, 2018.