1 of 6 | "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" screenwriter J.K. Rowling speaks to reporters in New York on Nov. 11, 2016. Photo by Karen Butler/UPI
NEW YORK, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- J.K. Rowling offered a few more details about how her iconic wizard Albus Dumbledore will be portrayed in the upcoming Harry Potter prequels Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
A titanic figure in Rowling's Potter books and the eight movies they inspired, Dumbledore is merely mentioned in the first Beasts film, however he is expected to play a larger role in the four, future installments. Initially played by the late Richard Harris, then Michael Gambon in the Potter pictures, the role has not been re-cast yet with a younger actor for the Beasts movies.
Asked at a press conference in New York Thursday if Dumbledore will be portrayed as openly gay and if the new movies will explore a romantic relationship between Dumbledore and Johnny Depp's character Grindelwald, who has a cameo in the first Beasts movie, Rowling replied: "Well, I'm very comfortable with the question.
"I can't tell you everything I would like to say because this is, obviously, it's a five-part story, so there's lots to unpack in that relationship. I will say that you will see Dumbledore as a younger man and quite a troubled man because he wasn't always the sage. He was always very clever... but we'll see him at what I think was the formative period of his life. As far as his sexuality is concerned, watch this space."
Dumbledore's sexuality is not directly addressed in the Potter books or movies, but Rowling previously confirmed in interviews that he is gay.
Starring Eddie Redmayne, Dan Fogler, Katherine Waterston, Jon Voight, Colin Farrell, Carmen Ejogo and Ezra Miller, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is to open in U.S. and U.K. theaters on Nov. 18.
