‘Fantastic Beasts’ Star Defends Major Character Twist

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald had some very polarizing moments but star Alison Sudol has defended one in particular.

In general, the latest addition to the planned 5-part Fantastic Beasts franchise has become very polarizing amongst Wizarding World fans and casual moviegoers alike. The film isn’t being panned across the board but it is earning comparison to the Star Wars prequels by fans who feel that the film is leaning into its mythology a little too hard. Not only that, but the film features a few twists that have left fans scratching their heads. Of course, if you want to avoid spoilers for the film then stop reading now.

In Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Queenie Goldstein (Alison Sudol) has a much darker arc than seen in the previous film. Whereas the first film in the franchise had the character be a bubbly, light addition to the cast, The Crimes of Grindelwald featured Queenie joining the titular villain’s side in a shocking turn of events. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Sudol revealed that even she was surprised when she found out the twist in the midst of promoting the first film two years ago.

“I was like, wait, how did this happen? It took a long time in my imagination to even begin to understand. And throughout the course of the film, to just begin to reconcile who she was in the beginning with the choices that she makes and realize she isn’t a different person she’s just abandoned in a really untenable circumstance.”

Sudol then opened up about why she feels her character made the choice that she did.

“I feel like in some ways she’s too there and that’s part of the problem. She’s tapping into all human beings at all times and that’s a lot for one person to hold and everybody closest to her is always going, ‘Don’t read my mind.’ So she has a huge power and yet is made to feel like she’s nothing and that’s bad. That could make anyone feel crazy.

And women historically have this huge intuition and have been punished for that intuition forever. How many women have been in a mental institution because they’ve been called crazy when they’re just not allowed to be honest or be who they are?”

The actress then revealed what her character was thinking when she was approaching Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) alone.

“Jacob doesn’t come with her. It’s not so much about Jacob not coming wither to the dark side, it’s like, ‘Jacob, walk with me, we’re in this together.’ And she doesn’t have those two, so who does she have? Newt’s kind of betrayed her – he called her out, it was embarrassing. What does she have?”

She also discussed why she felt Queenie’s turn to the dark side doesn’t necessarily make her a villain.

“I still believe in her hearts of hearts she’s going over to fight what she believes in. Grindelwald is saying, ‘we’re creating a different world’ and the world that she is in is broken. I don’t believe she’s turning evil. It’s more like she’s trying to find somebody who is giving her an option. He’s manipulating her but he’s manipulating everybody. He even did that with Dumbledore.”

Despite polarizing reviews and a lower opening weekend gross than the previous entry in the franchise domestically, there has been no news yet that the Fantatic Beasts franchise will be slowing down anytime soon. Given the fact that there are still three movies still planned, that gives fans plenty of time to get to know and understand the character of Queenie even further.

We’ll be sure to keep you updated on all news regarding Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald as soon as more information becomes available. Did you enjoy the movie? What’s your opinion on Queenie’s twist? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Directed by David Yates from a script written by J. K. Rowling, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald stars Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Zoë Kravitz, Callum Turner, Claudia Kim, William Nadylam, Kevin Guthrie, Jude Law and Johnny Depp.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is playing in theaters now!

Source: Entertainment Weekly