The final trailer for the highly anticipated second installment of the "Fantastic Beasts" franchise, "The Crimes of Grindelwald," dropped on Tuesday and it got "Harry Potter" fans more excited than third years going on their first trip to Hogsmeade Village.
Not only do we get more insight into young Albus Dumbledore's (Jude Law) relationship with evil wizard Grindelwald (Johnny Depp), a major question was answered about a new character, played by actress Claudia Kim, that was teased in the original cast photo. As it turns out, Kim's character is none other than Nagini, who fans will remember as Voldemort's snake and secret horcrux.
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When the cast photo was released last year, fans immediately began to wonder who Kim's character could be, and of course, rumors and conspiracy theories began to swirl. Fans found out that Kim's character is a "Maledictus," and according to Pottermore, means that she is "the carrier of a blood curse that destines her ultimately to transform into a beast."
Many fans wondered what the difference is between a Maledictus and a werewolf or Animagi. J.K. Rowling took to Twitter to explain what this new type of wizarding person is, writing, "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." She also says on Twitter that a Maledictus can transform into any creature or beast, not just a massive snake.
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
The first "Fantastic Beasts" trailer showed a poster for a "Snake Girl" at a traveling freak-show like circus, which also got fans theorizing about Kim's character's identity.
Finally, in the final trailer we see Kim's character begin to transform into a snake during the circus while Credence, a character from the first "Fantastic Beasts" movie looks on and calls her "Nagini."
Besides explaining the origin of the word "Maledictus," Rowling confirmed that she's been keeping Nagini's backstory a secret for close to 20 years.
Only for around twenty years. https://t.co/gZadgWVREN
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) September 25, 2018
Kim spoke with "Entertainment Weekly," telling them, “It will be so interesting to see another side of Nagini. You’ve only seen her as a Horcrux. In this, she’s a wonderful and vulnerable woman who wants to live. She wants to stay a human being and I think that’s a wonderful contrast to the character.”
The new film takes place in 1927, and at this point, Nagini is still able to transform from a human to a snake, but as any Potterhead knows, that transformation will become permanent at some point since we only see Nagini as a snake during the "Harry Potter" series that takes place in the '90s.
Given Kim's description of Nagini as "wonderful," it will be interesting to see how the character goes from that description to Voldemort's No. 1 killing machine -- remember, Nagini was the one who killed Severus Snape in the Battle of Hogwarts.
We're sure all of these questions will be answered when "The Crimes of Grindelwald" comes out in theaters on Nov. 16.
