Will Dumbledore's gay lover be in HARRY POTTER and the DEATHLY HALLOWS films?
Back in 2007, it caused quite the controversy when Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling said that she envisioned the character of Prof. Dumbledore as gay and that she intended the character of Gellert Grindelwald in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows to be Dumbledore's lover. She didn't specify that in the book, so it really made you wonder why she would make it a point to reveal that about the character. It doesn't have anything to do with how good of a wizard he is or his relationship with the other characters. If it was important to the story, it'd be in the book... right?
Well it looks like they may address Rowling's revelations in the film version of Deathly Hallows, which is being split up into two films. Actor Jamie Campbell Bower(Sweeney Todd), who is playing Grindelwald in the two Deathly Hallows films, spoke about his character's relationship with Dumbledore while he was promoting his new film The Twilight Saga: New Moon.
It's a safe bet that they may expand on Dumbledore's homosexuality, as Bower refers to his character the same way Rowling did, saying:
He's an old friend of Dumbledore's, possible lover.
***SPOILER ALERT***
(for those who haven't read the books)
Grindelwald appears as a vision in the book, as the character was killed by Voldemort before the events of Deathly Hallows. Bower will shoot for approximately two weeks total. It's a small part of a film shoot that lasts more than a year, but it will be a pivotal role with that will amount to a significant amount of minutes on screen in both films.
Bower says of the schedule:
At the moment, I've only worked on it for about a week. So I think I've got another week and a bit to go. They're still cracking on with both of them simultaneously, because they've obviously got such a tight schedule they have to do both side by side.
But what Bower had to say, in comparing his experiences in working on New Moon and Deathly Hallows, makes me wonder how in depth the Potter filmmakers have gone into the character with him.
It's a machine, Potter. You go in, you do your thing, and then you go on, whereas with this, it's a lot more finding out about everything and a lot more exploration to do in general.
So it's possible Bower is just making his own assumptions and choices with the Grindelwald character. "Possible lover" and "go in and go on" just doesn't sound like solid info to me. I hope like in the books, they only address the important non-trivial things about the character. What do you think?
What do you think?
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I hits theaters Nov. 19, 2010 with Part II opening July 15, 2011.
Source: SciFiWire