New Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore clip shows Albus Dumbledore admitting his love for Gellert Grindelwald

A new clip from the upcoming Harry Potter-verse film Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore finally shows what has only been hinted at in the books and films so far. Wizard Albus Dumbledore is seen admitting that he was in love with his friend and later rival Gellert Grindelwald. The clip was posted on Twitter by fan accounts, who accessed them on YouTubes. The clip was part of several released as YouTube ads by the film’s producers Warner Brothers. (Also read: Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore trailer takes fans back to Great Hall, muggle Jacob gets a wand. Watch)

On Wednesday March 16, Warner Brothers released a series of short trailers for Fantastic Beasts 3 intended to be used as internet ads. It was one of these clips that shows the interaction between the two wizards, who are characters created by JK Rowling for her Harry Potter book series.

In the clip, Albus (played by Jude Law) is trying to talk some sense into his old friend and confidante Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen) as they chat in a restaurant. When Gellert refuses to listen and says, “It was you who said we’d reshape the world,” Albus replies, “Yes, that’s what we said we’d do because I was in love with you.” The conversation is interspersed with visuals of young Dumbledore and Grindelwald holding hands.

The Fantastic Beasts film franchise is a spin-off of the main Harry Potter books. It focuses on Newt Scamander’s (Eddie Redmayne) efforts to help Albus stop his old friend, who is on a quest to destroy and subjugate non-magical humans, also called Muggles.

This isn’t the first time Albus Dumbledore’s sexuality or his connection with Gellert Grindelwald have been discussed. In the final book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, it was revealed that the two were not just rivals but childhood friends and confidantes. The author JK Rowling later stated that Albus was gay, something she did not explicitly write in the books. She also hinted that it was Gellert who was his object of affection.

Directed by David Yates, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore also stars Dan Fogler, Ezra Miller, and Katherine Waterson. Mads has taken over the role of Gellert Grindelwald from Johnny Depp, who played the role in the first two Fantastic Beasts films. The Secrets of Dumbledore releases on April 8 this year.