Warning: There are spoilers ahead for “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.”
Now that “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” is out in theaters, we need to discuss one of the biggest cameos in the film that appears to serve little purpose.
And I’m not talking about the teacher who pops up at Hogwarts.
This is your last chance to head back before spoilers.
Albus Dumbledore offers Newt (Eddie Redmayne) a safe house to visit if he finds himself in a pickle. Naturally, he does and finds himself at the doorstep of none other than legendary alchemist, Nicolas Flamel (Brontis Jodorowsky).
If you watched all of the teasers and trailers, this wasn't a big surprise. Flamel popped up in a trailer for the movie.
"Harry Potter" fans know him as the creator of the Philosopher's Stone, the very one which becomes an important item in J.K. Rowling's first book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." Eagle-eyed fans will notice the stone itself makes a minor appearance, too, in a cupboard.
It's cool to see the character make his debut film appearance on screen, but it feels incredibly wasted. For a moment, it looks as if Flamel will play a really crucial role in the sequel and then nothing happens.
When Newt and Jacob leave his safe house, Flamel sees a vision of death and destruction at Grindelwald's hands. He hurries off to presumably warn others and get there first. When the event finally occurs though, Flamel's nowhere to be found. Instead, he conveniently shows up after the many auror and wizard deaths happen.
What was Flamel doing all that time?
As I was walking out of my screening, filled with both critics and fans, at least one person made an astute observation aloud that was on my mind: "In a world where everyone can teleport, he shows up late."
He's not wrong. It's one of the most frustrating parts of the entire movie. What took Flamel so long to show up at the tombs when he not only was able to foresee the death and destruction that was going to happen there, but when he also left ahead of everyone else to get there?
Did he get sidetracked elsewhere? Is he secretly aligned with Grindelwald and didn't want to help out? Was something cut out of the film? It makes absolutely zero sense that he wouldn't have tried to warn others about the impending deaths of countless aurors. He should have apparated there instantly.
Hopefully, Flamel's appearance wasn't a random Easter egg and Rowling, who wrote the film's screenplay, has a larger role for him to play in the next three films. My guess? He's going to help Dumbledore find a way to get around the blood pact he made with Grindelwald so the two can fight in the eventual duel the franchise is building toward.
You can read our review of "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald" here and follow along with our coverage here.
