David Yates, the director for the sequel of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, told Entertainment Weekly that the latest installment in the series still would not definitively assert Dumbledore’s sexuality.
If you’re in the dark, back in 2007 J.K. Rowling said she always pictured Dumbledore as gay. Since then, big fans have been waiting for his grand coming out.
“I always thought of Dumbledore as gay,” she said at Carnegie Hall. “Dumbledore fell in love with Grindelwald, and that that added to his horror when Grindelwald showed himself to be what he was.” Apparently she did write it in the margin of a script at one point, but fans shouldn’t hold their breath that someone will find that.
When asked whether Dumbledore would clearly be portrayed as gay in the film, Yates told EW, “Not explicitly.” Yates thought fans would understand. “But I think all the fans are aware of that,” he said. “He had a very intense relationship with Grindelwald when they were young men. They fell in love with each other’s ideas, and ideology and each other.”
Yates was wrong — fans did not understand.
David Yates: well, dumbledore won’t *explicitly* be …
me: pic.twitter.com/GBhB0T2reT
— Alex Bedder (@itgetsbedder) January 31, 2018
jkr: dumbledore is gay lol
fans: okay but u didn’t put it in the source material
jkr: i know lol
*ten years later*
fans: okay you’ve got a chance to put it in canon now
jkr: hehe lol i know
fans: so are you gonna
jkr: no lol— lucy (@_avasharpe) January 31, 2018
“Not explicitly,” Yates replied when asked if the film makes it clear that Dumbledore is gay. “But I think all the fans are aware of that.”
IT’S 2018 LMAO GET IT TOGETHER
— Connor Goldsmith (@dreamoforgonon) January 31, 2018
JKR *opening closet door, gestures*: Look, it’s Dumbledore, he’s gay!
Dumbledoor *tries to step out of the closet*
JKR: pic.twitter.com/PnICoNowa2— heidi heilig (@heidiheilig) January 31, 2018
J.K. Rowling had thoughts of her owns, and she was not happy either.
Being sent abuse about an interview that didn’t involve me, about a screenplay I wrote but which none of the angry people have read, which is part of a five-movie series that’s only one instalment in, is obviously tons of fun, but you know what’s even *more* fun? pic.twitter.com/Rj6Zr8aKUk
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) January 31, 2018
TBD whether or not Dumbledore will ever officially come out of the closet.