Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them is set about seven decades before the events of the Harry Potter series, so there aren’t many well-known characters who can make appearances in the five-part prequel film series. The events of this film probably even predate the birth of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. However, there is one beloved confirmed bachelor who very well might pop up in future future installments: Albus Dumbledore.
BBC News reports that J.K. Rowling—who has apparently already sketched out the final four films—told crowds at a fan event in London that in next month’s Fantastic Beasts, “We do talk about Dumbledore and Grindelwald.” That second weird-sounding name is a reference to Gellert Grindelwald, a one-time close friend of Dumbledore who went on to become a powerful dark wizard and master of the Elder Wand, one of the fabled Deathly Hallows that feature prominently in the final two Harry Potter films. If that all sounds like gobbledygook to you, just know that he’s a big deal in the overarching storyline.
At the same event, director David Yates extrapolated on Rowling’s disclosure, saying, “We can’t tell you too because we’d have to kill you all, but we do mention Dumbledore, and he features in a wonderful scene between Colin [Farrell] and Eddie [Redmayne]. … Grindelwald does feature in the background and is going to become a much more prominent feature moving forward.” So, it’s not absolute confirmation that the future headmaster of Hogwarts will be a player in this series, but it’s close enough to cast a Cheering Charm across a large swath of the fanbase.