They’ve taken to social media to vent.
Harry Potter fans have been left unhappy by the news that Albus Dumbledore’s sexuality will not be directly addressed in the upcoming Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them instalment.
The news comes after the film’s director David Yates told Entertainment Weekly that the upcoming release would not “explicitly” mention the sexuality of the Hogwarts headmaster.
The Fantastic Beasts movies are set before the events detailed in J.K. Rowling’s series of books, and centre upon the lives of Dumbledore (played by Jude Law) and fellow wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) before they later fall out and famously duel.
Yates admitted 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.”
Whilst Rowling herself told audiences that “Dumbledore fell in love with Grindelwald, and that added to his horror when Grindelwald showed himself to be what he was” during a speech at New York’s Carnegie Hall in 2007. “[I] have always thought of Dumbledore as gay” she added.
Rowling has taken to Twitter to defend the movie from criticism, reiterating that it was only one film in “a five-movie series that’s only one instalment in”.
Being sent abuse about an interview that didn't involve me, about a screenplay I wrote but which none of the angry people have read, which is part of a five-movie series that's only one instalment in, is obviously tons of fun, but you know what's even *more* fun? pic.twitter.com/Rj6Zr8aKUk
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) January 31, 2018
IT'S LITERALLY THE MOVIE ABOUT DUMBLEDORE AND HIS BOYFRIEND WHO TURNS EVIL
— Kristen Lyssara ♿ (@krislyssara) January 31, 2018
first of all, gay people are still gay when they're single. but also, Dumbledore relationship with Grindelwald is *integral to the story.*
— Gavia Baker-Whitelaw (@Hello_Tailor) February 2, 2018
Dumbledore’s homosexuality won’t be explicitly stated in the #FantasticBeasts2 ? I’m over it, grow up and catch up with society, i won’t be watching
— Trevor Duke- Moretz (@TrevorDMoretz) January 31, 2018
Harry lives in the cupboard under the stairs; Dumbledore lives in the closet.
— (((Jew))) (@JoshMalina) February 1, 2018
Yates absolutely bottling making Dumbledore gay in the Fantastic Beasts movies is, to be fair, very in-keeping with the source material, where the author also utterly bottled making him gay in the books.
— Carl Kinsella (@TVsCarlKinsella) February 1, 2018
I thought I already had enough reasons to be disappointed with the way Fantastic Beasts is being handled, but the recent news still really bums me out. I would’ve really loved to see a young LGBT+ Dumbledore properly respresented.
— Lauren Fairweather (@laurenfairwx) January 31, 2018
