Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was released back in 2016 and received a mostly positive response from fans and critics alike. Many questioned the necessity of the series of prequels and things appear to already be going wrong for it as The Crimes of Grindelwald hasn't had a particularly warm reception. It's also hard to believe this story needs three more movies to conclude!
Regardless, with a script from J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter director David Yates back at the helm, you'd best believe that this sequel is crammed full of references and Easter Eggs for Potterheads.
The Crimes of Grindelwald may be light on its titular Fantastic Beasts but there's still lots to enjoy here and we think you'll be surprised by the ways it ties into some familiar characters and locations. So, to take a look at this breakdown, all you guys have to do is click on the "View List" button below.
The Young Grindelwald
Meeting a young Grindelwald isn't exactly an Easter Egg but seeing who plays him is! Jamie Campbell Bower returns here as the villain and you may recognise him from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 as he could be seen in that movie stealing the Elder Wand (before it ultimately winds up in the hands of Voldemort).
He's now the only cast member to appear in both the original series and prequels but there's another apparent continuity error as this version has two differently coloured eyes just like Johnny Depp.
The Whomping Willow
We get to "meet" a young version of the Whomping Willow in The Crimes of Grindelwald when Newt introduces classmate Leta to his pet Bowtruckle. Surprisingly, it's rather chilled out at this point in time but this cameo leads to yet another major continuity error because Remus Lupin told Harry and his friends that it was planted the year he first arrived in Hogwarts.
Polyjuice Potion And Portkeys
Two fan-favourite elements from Harry Potter return in this movie as we see Newt using some Polyjuice potion to imitate his brother and an illegal Portkey to help him and Jacob travel from Britain to Paris.
While they're not used in particularly new or original ways, it's great to see them return and used as standard by the sequel's adult wizards, especially when Harry was introduced to them along with us.
Phineas Nigellus Black
When Leta Lestrange returns to Hogwarts as an adult, the witch heads straight to her old desk to look at a carving she and Newt obviously put there when they were students.
Look closely, though, and you'll notice that the name "Nigellus" can also be seen!
Phineas Nigellus Black was Sirius Black's great great grandfather and reportedly the least popular Headmaster that Hogwarts ever had. Despite that, he appears frequently in 12 Grimmauld Place to pass messages to Dumbledore (as his portrait hands both there and in Albus' office).
Albus Dumbledore's Secret Brother
Grindelwald clearly wants Credence because of the powerful Obscurus within him and in the closing moments of the sequel, we learn that he's survived an affliction which normally kills people before they can reach adulthood because he's actually the long lost (half?) brother of Albus Dumbledore!
It's a plot twist which makes very little sense and doesn't add up in terms of the timeline but Credence learns that his true name is Aurelius Dumbledore and he now appears to be ready, willing, and able to not only kill Albus but help Grindelwald enact his vision to create a new world where humans are no longer able to lay waste to it (he receives a vision of World War II earlier in the movie).
The Philosopher's Stone
When we pay an ultimately pointless visit to Nicolas Flamel in the movie, we see the ageing and immortal wizard rooting through his cupboards and it's there that the Philosopher's Stone (or the Sorcerer's Stone if you live in the states) can be spotted.
Dumbledore clearly trusted him enough to send Newt to his home/shop, so it's now kind of odd to think how okay he was with the fact that destroying the stone would bring a swift end to his old friend's life during Harry Potter's first adventure.
Owls In The Ministry Of Magic
When Harry and his friends are wowed by the letters which fly through the Ministry of Magic, they learn that it's because owls were once used before being replaced due to the mess they ended up making.
Well, in The Crimes of Grindelwald, we see a poor House Elf having to clean up those droppings which lends some backstory to what led to officials deciding that owls may not be the best of ideas!
Thestrals
The Crimes of Grindelwald is somewhat light on "Fantastic Beasts" but we do get to see more of the Thestrals, creatures you may recall being introduced in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix when Harry learned that he could see them leading the carriages in Hogwarts because he had witnessed death firsthand when Cedric Diggory was killed by Voldemort the year before.
The McLaggen Family
During a Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson in the present day, Dumbledore is confronted by a number of Ministry of Magic officials. One student decides to point out to them just how great a teacher the future headmaster is and when Dumbledore tells him to leave, he refers to his student as "McLaggen." Sounds familiar, right?
Well, in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Cormac McLaggen attempts to woo Hermoine Granger and steal Ron Weasley's place on the Quidditch team, while we also learn that is family is quite a big deal in the Ministry (something which could explain his ancestor's cocky attitude).
Using A Boggart To Teach Students
Before becoming the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore was the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher and it appears as if Remus Lupin borrowed one teaching method, in particular, from him.
During a flashback sequence, we get to see Dumbledore using a Boggard to teach his students and learn what Newt and Leta are most frightened of in the process. The question is, is this part of the curriculum or simply a pretty lazy storytelling device?
The Mirror of Erised
Another magical artefact introduced in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, it makes a return in The Crimes of Grindelwald for exposition purposes when Dumbledore stands in front of it and sees a flashback to his youth and apparent romance with the movie's titular villain.
His advice to Harry about how dangerous it is to stand in front of the mirror is clearly based on past experience!
The Kappa
Remus Lupin taught Harry Potter and his friends about the Kappa in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban but we finally get to "meet" one in this movie. It's part of the Circus Arcanus and while it doesn't get much to do, it is exactly as he described it to his students all those years ago.
The Return Of Fawkes
Following that weird twist with Credence, a tiny bird that he's been trying to nurse back to health suddenly transforms into a Phoenix, a creature which only shows up when the Dumbledore family is in need. This is obviously Fawkes, Albus' prized pet that helped Harry defeat the Basilisk and showed up to assist his master when he went to war with Voldemort in the Ministry of Magic.
Nagini
We meet Nagini as a prisoner of the Circus Arcanus and learn that she's from Indonesia and the victim of a blood curse that will one day leave her permanently trapped in the form of a snake.
If the name sounds familiar, it's because Nagini ultimately becomes the beloved ally of Voldemort (so much so he entrusts a piece of his soul within her). What we don't know is what led to her aligning herself with the villain; does what happen to Credence push her over the edge or is it as simple as him manipulating and controlling her? That's something we'll probably learn in a future movie.
Hello, Minerva McGonagall!
A flashback to Newt and Leta's time in Hogwarts brings with it an unexpected cameo as we get to see a much younger version of Professor McGonagall chasing the latter through the school grounds.
She certainly has the same attitude as her future self but there's actually a major continuity error here; as fans have noted, she said in 1995 that she had been teaching in Hogwarts for 39 years which means she would have started in 1956 and not been anywhere near the school way back in 1927!
How many Easter Eggs in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald did you spot? As always, let us know your thoughts on that and our favourites in the comments section below.
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