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New ‘Fantastic Beasts’ trailer reveals some of Newt Scamander’s Hogwarts backstory

Eddie Redmayne's Newt Scamander has more in common with Hagrid than you might expect.

 

Gavia Baker-Whitelaw

Internet Culture

Posted on Apr 11, 2016   Updated on May 26, 2021, 11:17 pm CDT

Ever since Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was announced, fans have been wondering how it connects to the rest of the Harry Potter franchise. Well, the second trailer is here, and it reveals some of Newt Scamander’s backstory as a former Hogwarts student.

Like Hagrid, Scamander was expelled for endangering students with a magical beast. And like Hagrid, he was supported by Albus Dumbledore, who at that point was still the Transfigurations teacher.

The new trailer, screened during the MTV Movie Awards on Sunday, also offers us a better look at the supporting cast of new characters, including Auror Percival Graves (Colin Farrell), Scamander’s No-Maj friend Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler), and the American witch sisters Porpentina and Queenie Goldstein.

One question, though: if Newt Scamander’s suitcase has an anti-Muggle lock, then why didn’t he have it switched on the entire time? Does the entire plot of this movie hinge on the magical equivalent of a twenty-something forgetting to lock his door? Oh, Newt.

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*First Published: Apr 11, 2016, 7:36 am CDT