The surprise reveal of a minor Harry Potter character in the final trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, the second film in a series of spin-offs from the Potter series, has left fans speculating online. The latest trailer for the film revealed that Lord Voldemort’s snake companion, Nagini, was in fact a human.
Nagini was also Voldemort’s final and most closely protected horcrux in the Potter series. Horcruxes are fragments of a wizard’s soul that have been housed inside objects. Voldemort had separated his soul into seven horcruxes, which Harry had systematically destroyed in the final book in the series.
In Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, the character will be played by Claudia Kim. While a large section of Twitter has reacted to the reveal with shock - the previous trailer featured another Potter cameo, by alchemist Nicolas Flamel - another section has criticised author JK Rowling for her ‘retroactive representation’.
Me: *see the new trailer of "Fantastic Beasts" * ahhh! Nagini! Hogwarts! Dumbledore! Ahhh! I want this film now! #FantasticBeasts pic.twitter.com/GIStQd1DH1
— MartinaMendes14 (@Mendes14Martina) September 25, 2018
“Let’s retroactively turn a woman of colour into a literal object owned by a white man inspired by Nazis,” one person wrote on Twitter. “There are only two Asian women in Harry Potter franchise, Cho Chang and now NAGINI?” wrote another. Rowling has altered several details about her Harry Potter series after its conclusion, including the reveal that Albus Dumbledore is gay - a theme that will reportedly feature in Fantastic Beasts.
Asked by a fan how long she’s known about Nagini’s past, Rowling replied on Twitter, “Only about 20 years.” She also clarified that Nagini was not an Animagus, but a Maledictus.
In Potter lore, and as Rowling explained herself, “They’re different conditions. Maledictuses are always women, whereas werewolves can be either sex. The Maledictus carries a blood curse from birth, which is passed down from mother to daughter.”
They're different conditions. Maledictuses are always women, whereas werewolves can be either sex. The Maledictus carries a blood curse from birth, which is passed down from mother to daughter. https://t.co/wYfvPeQFRW
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) September 25, 2018
Here are some more reactions to the trailer:
"Nagini was a human woman all along" really is a bold addition to JK Rowling's list of post-series canon retcons. https://t.co/H3TsQplrwR
— Gavia Baker-Whitelaw (@Hello_Tailor) September 25, 2018
someone is gonna write a take about how "omg this decision about nagini is actually WOKE Asians can b racist 😡so it’s okay if an asian woman is portrayed as an EVIL COLD SLIT EYED ANIMAL!!!" and i really won’t be here for it
— the handmaiden stan (@MlMAKIRIGOE) September 25, 2018
wait so nagini is being played by an asian woman and she like.... becomes voldemort's '''pet'''???? is she.... is she a Fantastic Beast newt must Find???? oh this is bad. this is very very bad
— ✍️ (@neonacropolis) September 25, 2018
OH GOD NO pic.twitter.com/qpjX7IqAFc
— ✍️ (@neonacropolis) September 25, 2018
"Let's retroactively turn a woman of color into a literal object owned by a white man inspired by nazis." https://t.co/JYTQK6YFss
— Bad Janet™️ (@CharlesPulliam) September 25, 2018
There are only two Asian women in Harry Potter franchise, Cho Chang and now NAGINI? Not to mention Cho Chang as an Asian character's name is extremely lazy and funny (It's basically two sir names combined) and considering how Cho was used as a character.... This is REALLY BAD. pic.twitter.com/asfQImttWt
— Hyein Jeon (@hyeiniillo) September 25, 2018
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald stars Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, Johnny Depp, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler and Alison Sudol. The film is directed by Potter veteran David Yates and scheduled for a November 16 release.
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First Published: Sep 26, 2018 09:59 IST
