The Mikkelsen Era Begins with First Trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

A new era has dawned on the Wizarding World—the villainous Mads Mikkelsen era. The beloved Danish actor steps into the antagonist role of dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald for the third and possibly final film in the Fantastic Beasts timeline of Harry Potter prequels, as he vows to begin his war against the muggles, Dumbledore be damned. The first trailer for Secrets of Dumbledore, which you can watch below, gives us our first glimpse of Mikkelsen in action as Grindelwald.

The Fantastic Beasts series has been a rather glorious mess since its inception, combining “family friendly” focus on magical creatures via Eddie Redmayne’s Newt Scamander with an extremely dark, simultaneous plot that functions as a prequel to the world of Harry Potter, revolving around the wizarding war concocted by Grindelwald. The cast has ballooned out in the two films so far, and now includes Redmayne, alongside Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Callum Turner, William Nadylam, Poppy Corby-Tuech, Jessica Williams, Jude Law and Mads Mikkelsen. Scamander was originally the de facto protagonist, but the series has since become more of an ensemble piece.

Likewise, the Fantastic Beast series has been seemingly cursed not unlike the Hogwarts Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching position, with a new actor portraying Grindelwald in each installment so far. Will Mikkelsen have more staying power than the likes of Johnny Depp? One can only hope so. The premise of the latest installment, meanwhile, is as follows:

Set in the 1930s, the story leads up to the Wizarding World’s involvement in World War II and will explore the magical communities in Bhutan, Germany and China in addition to previously established locations including Brazil, the United States and United Kingdom. With Grindelwald’s power rapidly growing, Albus Dumbledore entrusts Newt Scamander and his friends on a mission that will lead to a clash with Grindelwald’s army, and will lead Dumbledore to ponder how long he will stay on the sidelines in the approaching war.

Check out the first Secrets of Dumbledore trailer below. The film is currently scheduled to apparate in theaters on April 15, 2022.