Remember the
photo of Eddie Redmayne, Dan Fogler, and director David Yates in Dumbledore's office at Warner Bros Studio Tour London a few days ago?
Well, the three weren't just there to meet fans, they were gearing up for this week's release of the DVD, Blu-ray, and digital copy sets of
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, including chatting exclusively with SnitchSeeker inside Dumbledore's office - oh yes, that was a treat!
SnitchSeeker correspondent Daimona (photographed below with Yates, Redmayne, and Fogler in Dumbledore's office) spoke to the team about some still-nagging plot-related questions about the first installment. However, as a few answers - especially about the Obscurus - started crossing into future film installments, the three got rather mum and vague about their responses.
Quote:
SnitchSeeker: What happened to the real Graves before he was taken over?
David Yates: Actually, that’s a really good question. In one sense I’d love to think that … actually, I’m not absolutely certain. I’d love to think he’s still alive because I’d love to bring Colin [Farrell] back at some point because I adore Colin, he’s such a wonderful actor and he brought so much to the movie. So in my version of the film he was probably alive somewhere all along. But I need to check with Jo [Rowling] because I’m not sure.
Dan Fogler: He’s in a box.
Eddie Redmayne: He’s buried in some cellar. Waiting. (all laugh)
SnitchSeeker: Mad-Eye style.
David Yates: Mad-Eye style. Exactly.
Eddie Redmayne: We love Colin.
Dan Fogler: Yeah, we love Colin.
David Yates: Yes.
SnitchSeeker: Will we ever see him again?
David Yates: Probably not next time around. But he’s always there in our thoughts.
SnitchSeeker: Do you know how and when Grindelwald first got to New York City and took over Graves?
David Yates: I would say not long after our movie story started. I’m guessing. Jo will tell you precisely. We literally started on day four on that story beat. But I would guess it would be fairly recent in terms of time.
Quote:
SnitchSeeker: Newt’s big brother, Theseus, is mentioned briefly in the film. Can you talk a bit more about their relationship and if we might hear from him again soon?
Eddie Redmayne: He was never in this film but you heard from him. There was a letter at the beginning of the film as Newt was arriving in New York you heard, read, from his brother, and you got a sense he was an Auror, his brother, and that he was over in Europe and that he was …
Dan Fogler: Alpha.
Eddie Redmayne: … clearly quite established and well thought of within that community as Colin’s character references in the film. I think he’s very different from Newt from what I know, and he’s quite establishment, I suppose, and Newt, he wouldn’t consciously think of himself as anti-establishment but the way he lives is he follows his own heart.
SnitchSeeker: What do you think happened to the blue billywig that was flying around New York City? Because it wasn’t actually captured back.
David Yates: Unfortunately it got eaten by a seagull. (All laugh) It got gobbled up by a seagull.
Quote:
SnitchSeeker: Why did Graves (Grindelwald) want the Obscurus and control of Credence? What did he hope to do with that dark force?
David Yates: It’s very unusual for that magic to exist, and it’s a very powerful piece of magic, in a sense – an Obscurus. He was keen to weaponize it. To use that dark force to deal with one of his enemies, basically. So his intent was to weaponize it. That was the agenda. And in the next stories we discover more about what he intends to do with that extraordinary power.
Quote:
SnitchSeeker: What do you think triggered Newt to use the Revelio spell on Graves in the train station?
Eddie Redmayne: I think that Newt is intuitive. I feel like his relationship with the creatures is … he’s one of the most instinctive characters I’ve ever read. I think, spending time in the wild, he’s a great listener and a great observer, even if he’s not a wonderful communicator. I think there are little moments in the film that you see him watching and observing. The scene that was cut between Graves and Tina in which, it was just an observation of his behavior and his gentle authority and manipulation. And there was also the moment just before that down in the cell in which Graves talks about the “greater good” and this notion that there is something that you can see – and Newt doesn’t miss that and picks up on it.
SnitchSeeker: That the Obscurus might be worth using.
Eddie Redmayne: Exactly. Why would you want to use it? So I think there’s a collection of points which are gently simmering there without needing to be seen.
When it came to questions about the Obscurus, the SnitchSeeker team asked about the dark force within the realm of the first movie. However, when the three were asked about the flicker of Credence's Obscurus seen at the very end of the film, Eddie promptly mimed zipping his mouth shut at that point as not to reveal spoilers for future movies. Dan Fogler himself laughed when Yates gave the answer provided below.
Quote:
SnitchSeeker: So, near the end of the film, there’s a bit of a flicker of Credence’s obscurus – we see it scurry away from the train station. Where do you think it went?
David Yates: It’s one of those lovely moments where we just want to suggest that maybe he’s still alive. Just because we love Ezra and everything he can do. Credence is quite an important character. So is he still alive? We’ll find out.
Dan Fogler: The seagull eats him. (all laugh)
Quote:
SnitchSeeker: In the script for Fantastic Beasts that was published, it said that the final scene in Jacob’s bakery takes place three months after the main story. Is that the first time that Queenie visits the bakery and sees him? And where do you think the others were during that time?
Eddie Redmayne: It literally gives me tingles even thinking about that scene.
Dan Fogler: Oh wow. My theory is that she’s been watching from afar and then builds up the courage to see if he remembers.
David Yates: I love the idea that she’s poked along and looked in the window half a dozen times.
SnitchSeeker: Where do you think everyone else was during that time?
David Yates: Well Newt goes back to England. And Tina sort of heads off to ... another place.
Dan Fogler: (whispers) It’s a big mystery.
Eddie Redmayne: Someone else went somewhere else. (all laugh)
Dan Fogler: If in doubt, it’s the seagull.
Quote:
SnitchSeeker: Is there more to Credence’s little sister Modesty? Or was she was seen as more of a red herring in the film to her brother being the obscurial?
David Yates: Not really, no. She’s so enigmatic and lovely, but she doesn’t … she’s still alive.
SnitchSeeker: What did Grindelwald mean at the end when he told Newt, “Will we die, just a little?” just before he’s taken away?
David Yates: You know, ultimately, I think that’s what he’s saying there is he’s saying, “We’re gonna be on this amazing journey together, you and I. And it will demand an enormous amount from both of us in what it will put us through. And in that journey, we will probably sacrifice quite a bit. We will lose part of ourselves on the journey. So that’s what that means, I think. Will we die, just a little?
Eddie Redmayne: It’s almost an invitation. But I think the point is that Newt doesn’t know what that means. But it is so sobering when Johnny [Depp] delivered it because it was this weird invitation that he couldn’t figure out in that moment but I presume he will.
And a fun bonus question at the end about
Rupert Grint's recent comments about being sorted into Hufflepuff on Pottermore...
Quote:
SnitchSeeker: The last question is on the Hogwarts' Houses. When Rupert Grint was asked where he was sorted, it was into Hufflepuff and he was asked if he was surprised. He said he felt a bit disappointed because he didn’t he didn’t feel like that was a cool House.
Eddie Redmayne: I mean, I made a public service announcement about Hufflepuff. I feel like it’s had a bad rep for too long – rising to a new dawn, a new age.
Dan Fogler: Yeah, they get a bad rap, the Hufflepuffs. But I think they’re kind of like …
Eddie Redmayne: Say nice things, Dan.
Dan Fogler: No, they’re like the geeks. They’re the nerds. They’re the lovable … that’s what I am. I think that after school, they go on to do amazing things, the Hufflepuffs.
Much more to come, including SnitchSeeker's lengthy chats with Katherine Waterston (who had her own thoughts on where Tina might have gone off to after the first film's timeline), and Alison Sudol (who shared her views on Queenie's and Newt's relationship, among others).
Pre-order J.K. Rowling's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, out March 28th, in the following formats now:
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Amazon Exclusive) (Niffler Figurine/Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD UltraViolet Combo Pack)
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD UltraViolet Combo Pack) Copyright 2017 SnitchSeeker.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be rewritten or redistributed without proper accreditation, and may not be redistributed in its entirety at all.