The relationship between Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald is an interesting one. While Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling revealed the Hogwarts headmaster’s sexuality as well as his relationship with Grindelwald back in 2007, fans have been waiting to see this relationship play out, specifically in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, to no avail.
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How, however, Rowling is opening up a bit about the relationship between the headmaster and the dark wizard in a feature on the Crimes of Grindelwald Blu-ray DVD, revealing that she believes there is a “sexual dimension” to their relationship, but that she’s more interested in the emotional side.
“It was passionate, and it was a love relationship,” Rowling says. “But as happens in any relationship, gay or straight or whatever label we want to put on it, one never knows really what the other person is feeling. You can’t know, you can believe you know.
“So I’m less interested in the sexual side — though I believe there is a sexual dimension to this relationship — than I am in the sense of the emotions they felt for each other, which ultimately is the most fascinating thing about all human relationships.”
While the confirmation that Dumbledore and Grindelwald had a sexual relationship at some point in their history certainly helps fill in more details about both characters, it’s not likely to satisfy some of the more outspoken fans who have been discontent that Dumbledore’s sexuality isn’t something he’s been seen to live and experience. Instead of seeing the wizard’s life as a gay man, fans have instead simply been told about it. Fans had been hopeful that Crimes of Grindelwald would change that, with Jude Law appearing in the film as a younger Dumbledore and while that didn’t happen, Law did urge fans to be patient in an interview with Entertainment Weekly last year.
“Jo Rowling revealed some years back that Dumbledore was gay. That was a question I actually asked Jo and she said, yes, he’s gay. But as with humans, your sexuality doesn’t necessarily define you; he’s multifaceted,” Law said.
“I suppose the question is: How is Dumbledore’s sexuality depicted in this film? What you got to remember this is only the second Fantastic Beasts film in a series and what’s brilliant about Jo’s writing is how she reveals her characters, peels them to the heart over time.”
What do you think about Rowling’s latest comments regarding Dumbledore? Let us know in the comments below.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is now available on home release.
