Ezra Miller is here to put some of the backlash against “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” to rest. In an interview with Total Film, Miller defended the depiction of Dumbledore’s sexuality in the sequel.
Rowling first confirmed Dumbledore was a gay man in 2007 after her book series had concluded, so fans expected the “Fantastic Beasts” sequel to explore this part of the character when it was announced Jude Law was joining the prequel franchise as young Dumbledore. Director David Yates said at the start of 2018 the sequel would mostly avoid Dumbledore’s sexuality, which resulted in fan backlash. Miller told Total Film that’s not exactly true of the upcoming movie.
“It’s a funny idea to me that every form of representation has to look the same,” Miller said. “For me, personally, I find Dumbledore’s queerness extremely explicit in this film. I mean, all around. He sees Grindelwald, his young lover who’s the love of his life; he sees him in the Mirror of Erised. What does the Mirror of Erised show you? Nothing more than the most desperate desire of your heart. If that’s not explicitly gay, I don’t know what is.”
Miller went on to praise “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling for annoucing’s Dumbledore’s sexuality in the first place. “People have to also take a moment and acknowledge the gift that Jo Rowling gave us,” he said. “[She wrote] one of the greatest characters in literary history, one of the most beloved characters across the whole spectrum of civil society…and then, at the end of writing that series, was like, ‘Oh, yeah, and he’s gay. What? Step to me.’ She is forever a god for that.”
Since the backlash first started, both Yates and Jude Law have said that fans should be patient with the franchise. “The Crimes of Grindelwald” is the second film in a planned five-movie franchise, which means there’s lots of room in the future to continue to explore Dumbledore’s sexuality. Yates said the franchise is not deliberately hiding Dumbledore being a gay man.
“This part of this huge narrative that [J.K. Rowling] is creating doesn’t focus on his sexuality, but we’re not airbrushing or hiding it,” Yates said. “The story [of the romantic relationship] isn’t there in this particular movie, but it’s clear in what you see…that he is gay.”
As for the backlash in general, Miller had this to say: “Why don’t you wait until you see the film before you start talking shit on Twitter? Or wait to make up your own mind about something for once in your life. Do your own research. Make up your own mind. Follow your heart, and really, really investigate situations before you identify yourself and pick a side, and start throwing things at the opposition. Because that’s what’s totally screwing everything up right now. And it polarizes us. We’re all human, and there’s a lot of things we can agree on.”
Miller plays Credence Barebone in the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise. “The Crimes of Grindelwald” opens in theaters nationwide November 16 from Warner Bros.
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