Fantastic Beasts 2: 10 Biggest Changes To Harry Potter Canon (And If They Work)

8. The Dumbledores' Connection To Phoenixes

Fawkes Harry Potter
Warner Bros.

The Change:

While we've always known that Albus Dumbledore had a strong connection to his phoenix, Fawkes, it's largely been presented as unique to them, with their bond essentially that of a master and his pet. The Crimes of Grindelwald takes this much further, and reveals a legend that the entire Dumbledore family has a special link to phoenixes, who'll always come to them in their time of need, which is used as proof of Credence's identity at the end of the movie.

Does It Work?

Yes. Even though it's just in place for the Credence twist, this is the kind of lore-building that adds to the canon in a fairly organic way, and enhances our understanding of what is to come. It explains just why Fawkes is so close to Albus, and is on the path to explaining how they came to find one another too, and nicely develops that part of his character without making wholesale changes that have a much bigger impact.

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NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.