Major 'Harry Potter' Character Confirmed For 'Fantastic Beasts 2'

When Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald hits the silver screen next weekend, it will include a surprising character for fans of the Harry Potter franchise.

According to ComicBook.com sister site PopCulture.com, Minerva McGonagall will be the second major Harry Potter character to appear into the newest franchise.

Originally played by Maggie Smith, the younger McGonagall will be played by Irish actress Fiona Glascott. Glascott, 35, most recently appeared in Showtime's Episodes. Film credits for the actress include Brooklyn and the first Resident Evil flick.

Glascott's McGonagall will appear alongside a younger version of Albus Dumbledore, played by Captain Marvel star Jude Law.

As PopCulture.com reports, McGonagall's inclusion is quite peculiar. According the series' lore, McGonagall was born in 1935. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) is set in 1926 and this new follow-up takes place only five months afterwards, meaning McGonagall shouldn't be alive.

Beings that Glascott wasn't mentioned in production notes released by Warner Brothers earlier in the week, fans shouldn't go to theaters expecting McGonagall to have a significant role in The Crimes of Grindelwald.

WithThe Crimes of Grindelwald on the horizon, writer J.K. Rowling admitted that most future Fantastic Beasts movies are already "mapped out."

"As with the Harry Potter books, it is all mapped out," Rowling told Entertainment Weekly. "In fact, when we announced the five films, I talked about that. It's always possible that some details will change along the way, but the arc of the story is there.

"It's been an amazing opportunity to tell parts of the backstory that never made it into the original books. I'm thinking particularly of one character that I think fans will be surprised to meet in this movie."

While the first two movies almost exclusively take place in New York and Europe, Rowling says she's excited to explore other areas around the globe in the coming movies.

"It's far too early to spoil anything," Rowling said. "What I can say is that we'll go to at least one new city in the next film, possibly two, and I'm keen to move outside Europe and North America. But you'll just have to wait and see."

Are you excited to see Professor McGonagall return to the silver screen? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald opens in theaters on November 16th. Its sequel will follow on November 20, 2020.