Fantastic Beasts’ Shocking Credence Twist Explained

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore delivered a shocking twist regarding Credence, revealing that he’s Aurelius Dumbledore, the nephew of future Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore himself. Since Credence is Aurelius Dumbledore, his connection to the Dumbledore line was heavily theorized before the big reveal of the Credence twist. It’s revealed in the film that Credence is Aberforth Dumbledore’s long-lost son, which worked perfectly for the Harry Potter canon and the Fantastic Beasts franchise as a whole.

Fantastic Beasts 3 zeroes in on Dumbledore’s role and Credence’s part in the villain’s movement. However, Credence himself is simply searching for answers about the true identities of his birth parents. Though there are rumors in the wizarding community about who Credence is in Fantastic Beasts and which powerful family he could be linked to, the truth is different – and completely unexpected. Fantastic Beasts 3 revealed Credence’s parentage through the messages on the mirror he was sending to Aberforth. It was a great twist, and Credence being Aurelius Dumbledore was a huge moment for the Harry Potter prequel franchise.

Fantastic Beasts 2’s Big Twist: Credence Is Aurelius Dumbledore

Grindelwald Revealed The Truth About Who Credence Was

At the end of The Crimes of Grindelwald, the titular dark wizard, and his followers, take refuge in Nurmengard Castle. It’s here that Grindelwald finally reveals who Credence is in Fantastic Beasts, but not without some manipulation on his part. In the sequence, Grindelwald begins to sow discord between Credence and his family before even revealing who that is.

As the sequence continues to build to the big reveal, the baby bird Credence was nurturing evolves into a Phoenix. Grindelwald refers to a legend that phoenixes come to men in his family when they’re in dire need. Finally, Grindelwald reveals Credence is a Dumbledore, and his name is Aurelius.

The filmmakers don’t initially make it explicit whether Grindelwald was telling Credence the truth. After all, Grindelwald is known to lie and manipulate to get what he wants, and he did just that to Credence in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. It would’ve made sense for him to use Credence’s identity as a manipulation tactic to motivate the Obscurial to kill Albus — which is the end goal people already know Grindelwald is working toward by recruiting Credence.

This is evidenced by Fantastic Beasts 3, which shows Credence at the forefront of Grindelwald’s army, using his Obscurus as a weapon. As such, the second movie does leave room for doubt that Credence actually is Aurelius Dumbledore. The seeds of doubt planted by the second film were a purposeful tool used to make the twist revealed in the third movie much more shocking. Breadcrumbs were left to take people off the trail, as J.K. Rowling is known to do, which caused a lot of false theorization over his parentage before The Secrets of Dumbledore.

Aurelius Dumbledore’s Parents & Backstory

The Long-Lost Son Of Aberforth Has A Fascinating History

In The Secrets of Dumbledore, Credence is revealed to be the son of Albus’ brother Aberforth and an unknown young woman. Albus’s backstory is shown in the Harry Potter novels, though it’s not present in the movies. The Secrets of Dumbledore sought to change that, by rehashing what’s already known from the books, but with the new Credence twist.

While at the Hog’s Head, Albus has a conversation with Newt Scamander, in which he tells the Magizoologist the story of his sister Ariana and her death. But in this talk, he also tells Newt that Credence is Aberforth’s son. Newt finds out that Aberforth got a girl from the village pregnant, but she was shipped away before she had the baby. There were rumors that Credence’s mother was pregnant, but it wasn’t enough to prompt Aberforth to go looking for his son, since he didn’t know where she was taken to.

This would explain Leta Lestrange’s story about the baby switch on the boat. Credence survived, but it’s unknown what happened to his mother. She likely drowned when the ship sank, leading to Credence being adopted by the Barebones. Since Credence was without magical parents or schooling, he developed an Obscurus, like Ariana, and now is facing the consequences of the magical force that aided in his aunt’s death.

Aurelius Dumbledore Is New To Harry Potter Canon

Introducing A New Dumbledore Relative Was An Interesting Direction For Fantastic Beasts

Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller) was introduced in 2016’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them as the adopted son of Mary Lou Barebone (Samantha Morton). Mary Lou was the leader of a group that preached hatred of the magical community to fellow No-Majs (non-magical people). Because of this internalized hatred — as well as physical and emotional abuse from Mary Lou — Credence repressed his powers and became an Obscurial. It was always clear Credence was more than he first appeared, though the twist that he was Aurelius Dumbledore was certainly a surprise for many.

Perhaps the most shocking aspect of the reveal about Credence’s identity in Fantastic Beasts 3 is that it added a new central character to the Harry Potter canon. Although not much was known about Albus Dumbledore’s family prior to Fantastic Beasts 3, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows offers the most information about the Boy Who Lived’s mentor. It’s in the time following Dumbledore’s death that Harry learns about Albus’s family.

However, Rita Skeeter’s The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore also makes it clear that there’s a lot about the Dumbledore family the public doesn’t know, and Credence is included in that. Unlike most of the Harry Potter canon changes made in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, the Credence twist fits in nicely, with the only plothole being why he was never talked about before.

The Prophecy of Tycho Dodonus May Refer to Credence

The Story Of Credence May Have Had Some Similarities To Harry Potter’s

On the journey of exploration around the mystery of Credence’s identity, a prophecy is mentioned. Prophecies also played a big part in the Harry Potter series, so it makes sense that another will become key to the Fantastic Beasts movies. The prophecy introduced in The Crimes of Grindelwald came from Tycho Dodonus, and reads:

A Son Cruelly Banished

Despair of the Daughter

Return, Great Avenger

With Wings from the Water

For much of Fantastic Beasts 2, Yusuf Kama (William Nadylam) believed the prophecy referred to Corvus Lestrange, and he thought himself to be the “great avenger.” Yusuf planned to kill Credence, thinking he was Corvus, as revenge against the Lestranges for what they did to his family. However, when it was revealed that Credence is actually Aurelius Dumbledore, the prophecy could be interpreted differently. The prophecy of Tycho Dodonus wasn’t mentioned in Fantastic Beasts 3. But filmmakers would be remiss to leave it out, given the importance of Harry Potter’s own prophecy in Order of the Phoenix.

It’s unclear whether the prophecy refers to Aurelius, but it would make sense given what we know about him. He’s the youngest Dumbledore child, but isn’t acknowledged by the family and was sent to live in America (a “son cruelly banished”). “Despair of the daughter” could refer to Ariana’s Obscurus, an affliction that Credence shares. Then perhaps Aurelius is the “great avenger” who returns “with wings from the water.”

After all, his Obscurus allows him to fly, sort of, and Grindelwald manipulated him to seek vengeance on the Dumbledores for how he was treated as a baby. That’s only one interpretation, though, and as people have seen with prophecies in Harry Potter, they can be interpreted in many ways. This one may refer to Aurelius Dumbledore, or it may refer to someone else.

Credence/Aurelius Dumbledore’s Role In Fantastic Beasts 3

The Troubled Wizard Is Central To The Narrative Of The Harry Potter Prequel Story

No matter the prophecy, Credence/Aurelius is key to the story of Fantastic Beasts 3. At first, he’s aligned with Grindelwald, with Fantastic Beasts 3 showing him leading Grindelwald’s army. He also trains to master both his magical abilities with the wand gifted to him by Grindelwald and the powers granted to him by the Obscurus.

Grindelwald tasks Aurelius with killing Albus, since that’s what the dark wizard wants from the young man. In the end, Credence/Aurelius returns to the light, taking sides with his family, rather than Grindelwald. The action has reverberating consequences, as Grindelwald tries to kill Credence, but Dumbledore protects him — breaking their blood pact.

For now, it remains to be seen where exactly Aurelius’s story is headed. People know that he’s being slowly killed by his own Obscurus and that he’s headed home to live with his father, Aberforth. But lingering questions regarding Credence do remain. After all, there has to be some reason history doesn’t know or remember Aurelius Dumbledore.That will be revealed in the rest of the Fantastic Beasts movies — if they happen, that is. Ultimately, the Credence twist in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore was shocking, but it fits into the Harry Potter canon much better than some other changes J.K. Rowling has made.

What The Credence Twist Means For Harry Potter Lore

The Shock Twist Changes Very Little

The twist that Credence is the son of Aberforth Dumbledore was likely intended to be a jaw-dropping reveal by Warner Bros. and J.K. Rowling. It was certaintly a big moment for Credence as a character, and for the Fantastic Beasts franchise. However, it’s also not unfair to say that it didn’t have anywhere near the impact that those behind the Harry Potter prequel story were expecting, as while it definitely intrigued fans, it wasn’t the kind of shock that redefined the way they saw the characters and history of the Wizarding World.

There are several reasons why the Aurelius Dumbledore twist was relatively insignificant to the Harry Potter canon, even to characters directly involved like Albus Dumbledore. Firstly, Dumbledore having a secret nephew who worked for Grindelwald isn’t that shocking when considering just how many links there are between magical families in the Harry Potter universe.

For example, Molly Weasley is the second cousin of Bellatrix Lestrange, Malfoy’s maternal grandfather is Sirius Black’s uncle, and even Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort are distantly related. There are simply too many pre-existing connections for twists based on secret family ties to be that shocking when it comes to the Harry Potter franchise. Lifting the curtain on Credence’s true identity as Albus Dumbledore’s nephew was far from the Darth Vader being Luke Skywalker’s father moment that the tone of the revelation scenes were clearly trying to establish it as.

Even the fact that Credence was close to Grindelwald didn’t add any emotional weight to the moment audiences learned he was really Aurelius Dumbledore. This was again because of the Harry Potter stories. It’s already been established that, in any wizarding conflict, members of the same family will often find themselves at odds. Moments like Percy Weasley disowning his family to side with the Ministry during the Second Great Wizarding War, or learning that Order of the Phoenix member Sirius Black’s brother Regulus was at one point a Death Eater, showed that no wizarding family was wholly good or bad – and not even the Dumbledore’s are exempt.

Finally, there was the simple fact that, whatever Credence’s fate after learning his true identity as Aurelius Dumbledore, he clearly didn’t have much of a long-term impact on his father, Aberforth, or his uncle Albus. That’s not to say either of the Dumbledore brothers forgot about Aurelius. It’s likely that both, especially Aberforth, harbor some incredibly deep emotions regarding Credence. It’s simply that, since there was no mention of him by the time of Harry Potter, he didn’t have much of an impact on the Wizarding World or the futures of Albus or Aberforth.

Since it’s likely Fantastic Beasts 4 isn’t going to happen, fans will never get to know the fate of Credence. All that can be done is speculate, but since he wasn’t around during the events of Harry Potter, it seems likely he met a tragic end. Even if he is alive somewhere during Harry’s fight against Voldemort, it would be impossible to insert Credence/Aurelius into the present-day Harry Potter timeline without serious retcons or including him in some kind of sequel story that links the new characters introduced in Fantastic Beasts to the well-known names and faces from Harry’s time at Hogwarts.

However, unless that happens, the twist about Credence being a member of Dumbledore’s family will remain a somewhat inconsequential part of the Harry Potter canon. He’ll remain yet another part of Albus Dumbeldore’s life that the shrewd and secretive headmaster never felt the need to discuss — a memory for one of the greatest wizards who ever lived that serves as a constant reminder that the struggle against Dark Magic often means having to place moral good above familial ties, but little more.

Why Fantastic Beasts May Not Happen And What That Means For Credence

Credence’s Story May Never Be Finished

Given Credence actor Ezra Miller’s recent spate of controversies and other unfortunate but decisive factors surrounding Fantastic Beasts 3‘s performance, will Fantastic Beasts 4 happen? As of now, there has been no announcement whether the series will keep going – and, sometimes, no news isn’t good news. After the second installment, interest in the franchise dropped considerably.

The Crimes of Grindelwald was the worst movie in the series and, arguably, the entire Wizarding World universe. Crimes of Grindelwald was certified rotten on Rotten Tomatoes (with a 36% critics score and a 54% audience score), which is something unseen in the monumentally successful Harry Potter franchise. Resultantly, no one had high expectations for Fantastic Beasts 3, and reviews for the sequel also landed it “Rotten” status, with a 46% critic score (despite its more promising 83% audience rating).

The Aurelius/Credence twist only added to the initial dread, as many feared J.K. Rowling would have to blow another hole in the canon to make it work, and it may now never come to full fruition despite the third movie’s partial tying up of the character’s story. Considering the film’s reception and the complete absence of sequel news, it could be the case that the prequel series has been hit with the Avada Kedavra curse. After all, director David Yates has other work on his current production schedule, and Fantastic Beasts 3 wasn’t well-received enough to risk another big-budget blockbuster flop.

In addition, there was a battle between Grindelwald and Dumbledore at the end, and producers could frame the event as closure for the series. Despite the Credence Barebone/Aurelius Dumbledore twist being handled well, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore may be the last movie in the series. While Fantastic Beasts 3 went down better than expected, mostly due to Mads Mikkelsen as Grindelwald and the Credence twist follow-up, it still wasn’t enough to save the Fantastic Beasts franchise.