Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald may have a franchise-changing twist involving Credence. Earlier this week, the final trailer for Fantastic Beasts 2 confirmed the theory that the Maledictus in the circus is actually Nagini, who would go on to become Voldemort’s snake. Nagini resides in the circus with Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller), the introverted, downtrodden young man who is also an Obscurus.
In the first Fantastic Beasts film, Credence managed to escape the clutches of his puritanical adoptive mother, Mary Lou, and made it safely to Paris, but the uncontrollable force of the magic within him still lurks. The Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald trailer already contains multiple links to Harry Potter canon already, but the real identity of Credence might well be another being saved for the film.
Related: Fantastic Beasts Is Stretching Harry Potter Continuity To Breaking Point
Miller is renowned for being a huge Harry Potter fan, and when a Twitter user asked J.K. Rowling if he had been shocked by the Nagini reveal, she replied, “That definitely wasn’t Ezra’s biggest shock.” Her answer strongly hints at there being a big reveal concerning his character and, since Credence is adopted, it’s not too hard to make the leap to it being something about his birth family.
Helpfully, the new trailer also includes a closer look at scrawlings about the Lestrange family made by Tina Goldstein. At the top sits Corvus Lestrange. He is the father of Leta, played by Zoe Kravitz, and a distant relation of notorious Death Eater Rodolphus Lestrange, who would eventually marry Bellatrix. However, Leta is Corvus’ child from his first marriage; Corvus married again and the child from that union – a boy – was (according to Harry Potter Wiki) raised by “an unknown woman in New York“. In the still from the trailer, the name “Credence Barebone” can be seen on the right of Tina, underneath Corvus. The implication would be that Credence is the half-brother of Leta Lestrange.
![Fantastic Beasts 2 Has A Credence Twist – Is He A [SPOILER]?](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Tina-with-the-Lestrange-Bloodline-in-Fantastic-Beasts-2.jpg)
It’s long been known that Credence will play an important part in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, which led to many speculating that he could be Voldemort’s father. The timelines vaguely add up on the surface; Tom Riddle, Sr. left his wife while she was pregnant, and Voldemort was born just a month after the events of the first Fantastic Beasts movie. This has led many to theorize that Tom Riddle changed his name and fled to New York with his mother (Mary Lou). However, that theory falls apart when you consider that Tom Riddle, Sr. was a muggle with his own backstory – a death at the hand of his son. Now, given the Lestrange connection, there are more possibilities.
Given the magic background, Credence could be the grandfather of another important Harry Potter figure; Severus Snape. Snape was the child of Eileen Prince, a witch, and Tobias Snape, a muggle (hence his self-imposed nickname, The Half-Blood Prince). Very little is known about the Prince family, but Eileen was born in the 1930s, which would check out with the time period of Fantastic Beasts. Did Credence change his name from Barebone in order to create a new identity for himself? It’s possible, but it’s also likely that he’ll rather enjoy being part of the Lestrange family, and will embrace all the dark complexities that holds. He could even end up being the grandfather of Rodolphus Lestrange.
Related: The Biggest Reveals From The Fantastic Beasts 2 Trailer
That’s not the only Fantastic Beasts parental theory linking to Snape, with some suggesting his grandparents are Queenie Goldstein and Jacob Kowalski. Why? If you recall, Queenie is an exceptionally powerful Legilimens and Occlemens. Who else was considered to be the same? Severus Snape. Queenie is hopelessly in love with Jacob, and despite having his memory wiped, it seems Jacob is falling for Queenie all over again.
Whatever the case, it’s clear that Fantastic Beasts 2‘s twists don’t end with Nagini…
Next: Fantastic Beasts 2: Every Update You Need To Know
Key Release Dates
fantastic beasts and where to find them 2
Release Date:2018-11-16Fantastic Beasts and the Crimes of Grindelwald
Release Date:2018-11-16