“The visual effects of the following scenes are not final”. With that warning, Warner Bros. welcomes us to watch the deleted scenes from Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. These scenes, which for some reason were not included in the theatrical release, are now available in the BluRay and DVD edition of the second film in this new Wizarding World series. The almost 15 minutes of never seen before material could have added more meaning to the movie, which was criticized especially for the lack of explanation of certain events. Were some extra 15 minutes too much to add? The movie was already 2 hours 13 minutes long, would it have been troublesome to be 2 hours 30 minutes long? For what is worth, it would have definitely been an improvement, especially for the development of some characters. But enough of what could have been -there’s nothing we can do now – and let’s plunge into the analysis of the ten deleted scenes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gf43Gy06E0
1. Credence Reborn
The opening of the film was going to be totally different because with this deleted scene, after seeing Warner Bros logo, the image of the drowning blanket appears, and immediately, we are shown how a black shape (Credence) moves through New York City and returns to Credence’s mother house. There, Credence returns to his human form, and gets his birthdate certificate. That’s all, and probably this scene wouldn’t have added anything for the hardcore fans – we knew months ago that Credence was alive because David Yates confirmed it shortly after the first movie was released. But what about the audience that doesn’t follow every piece of news from Harry Potter online? There is a possibility that many people were confused to see Credence alive later in the film if he was supposed to have been killed in the first movie. Of course, this is explained at the Ministry of Magic (when Newt is requested to chase him), but still, this deleted scene could have explained how Credence left New York and reached Paris.
2. At the Docks
Continuing with Credence, the second deleted scene shows him at the docks, seeing for first time the Arcanus Circus, its owner and some magical creatures, as he gets on a ship. Again, this scene provides some continuity to the character, and how he goes from one place to another.
3. Walk n Talk
Probably the most important of all the deleted scenes. Although we saw the conversation between Albus Dumbledore and Newt Scamander in London when the Hogwarts Professor convinces the mazoologist to go after Grindelwald. But we didn’t see the full conversation. In this deleted scene, Dumbledore confesses something really important to Newt and that is that he sent Newt to New York to save Credence because Grindelwald “had a vision, many years ago, in which an Obscurial killed the man he fears above all others” – says Dumbledore referring to himself.
This simple sentence gives so much background about Grindelwald. First of all, we know that the visions aren’t new for him – he had been experiencing them for many years. It also sets a different plot for the first movie: Grindelwald doesn’t want Credence “for the greater Good” or something like that, he wants him to kill Dumbledore. Which reinforces the idea that Aurelius Dumbledore is a lie – it may be just Grindelwald trying to fuel hate in Credence, so he finally kills Albus. And a tiny detail: Dumbledore is the most feared person by Grindelwald, just the same as Voldemort felt about the Hogwarts Headmaster many years later.
It is truly unknown why they decided to remove this scene from the film because it certainly clarifies a lot.
4. Ballroom Dance
This scene was briefly shown in one of the trailers. Leta and Theseus attend a formal party – but what started as a fun event for the couple quickly changed. The people in the ball start to say Leta’s brother is alive, and even a man comes close to her to say “Congratulations Leta, your brother lives”. After watching a dancer make white objects swirl through the air, she sees the floating cloak, which looks quite similar to her Boggart.
This is one of the longest deleted scenes, but one of the few that doesn’t make any sense, specially without context. Probably, it was a success to remove this one from the final cut.
5. Tina and Skender
This scene takes place just before Tina sees Nagini at the Arcanus Circus – it is when she enters the place and has a brief conversation with Skender, the owner. It is meaningless and does not add anything.
6. Newt’s Basement
Another one of the longest deleted scenes that lasts more than two minutes. It is an extended version of the one that appears in the film: the scene in Newt’s workshop, where the brand-new author tells Jacob they are heading for Paris. We see a few beasts, the baby Nifflers, and Newt also explains how he fixed his case so no beast can escape this time.
7. Murmuration
Nagini and Credence are sleeping in the destroyed roof of Irma Dugard’s house. He wakes up and goes to the terrace, where Nagini joins and asks him to let his “curse” out. Credence then releases his “black smoke” through his hand, as Nagini admires the smoke dancing through the sky of Paris. Then the smoke goes back to Credence, passing through Nagini (just as ghosts go through people in the Harry Potter films). The meaning of this scene is probably to show that Credence has learnt to control his powers, and can manipulate them as he pleases.
This scene probably takes place just before Grindelwald appears in the same place to talk with Credence.
8. Newt and Jacob walk to Kama’s
Newt and Jacob walk alongside Kama, from the café where they met to the place where Kama has Tina. It adds absolutely nothing to the plot, but cinematically, it is a really interesting scene because of the way it was filmed.
9. Nagini and Credence in Alley
A scene in which Nagini and Credence are in an alley scavenging for bread. Again, it isn’t vital for the film, but it shows the outcast nature of these two characters.
10. Dumbledore and McGonagall
A brief conversation between Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall. Dumbledore looks troubled and the tracker in his wrist is visible. However, it is only interesting because Dumbledore uses McGonagall’s first name to address her (“Sorry, Minerva”), which confirms she is the McGonagall we all know.