3 Reasons Why Benedict Cumberbatch Will Play As Young Dumbledore In Fantastic Beasts (With Supporting Photos)

So I saw The Imitation Game yesterday and though I wasn’t particularly thinking about Dumbledore or anything to do with Harry Potter, I thought I saw the young Dumbledore there.

Yes, I think Benedict Cumberbatch will play as young Dumbledore and as a Potterhead, he has my approval. (Haha! As if Jo Rowling needs my opinion about this.)

But anyway, the whole Imitation Game movie seemed like a foreshadowing of what may come for Cumberbatch. The role that he played, some imagery in the movie and many other things.

Below are the reasons why (I think) Benedict Cumberbatch will play as Young Dumbledore in the next Fantastic Beasts movies.

To all Cumberbatch fans, you’re welcome.

 1. If Grindelwald will be played by Johnny Depp, we need an equally strong male actor for Dumbledore – or better.

Warner Brothers picking Johnny Depp to play as young Grindelwald actually makes the list of who will potentially play as young Dumbledore shorter.

And there is no doubt that Benedict Cumberbatch is such a talented being. He had been nominated (and won) countless of times for his movies such as The Imitation Game, Sherlock, Doctor Strange and many others.

It will be a meh if Warner Brothers will pick an actor which won’t match Johnny Depp’s energy.

Yes, we are talking about no other than the Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore in here. It's not going to be easy.

2. Cumberbatch was so good in being gay without appearing too gay.

Cumberbatch’s character in the movie, Alan Turing, is a cryptanalyst and mathematician who built a machine during the World War II which decoded the German ciphers. This helped the United Kingdom win the war against Germany.

Turing, in real life, is a practicing homosexual and during those times homosexuality was considered a crime in the UK. He allegedly committed suicide through cyanide poisoning in 1954.

Did you see any Dumbledore parallelism there?

First, you should know by now that Dumbledore is gay. Rowling let him out to the open 10 years ago. (Click this link if you don’t believe me.)

Second, although Dumbledore did not deliberately commit suicide, he planned for his own death to be administered by his most trusted friend, Snape.

Lastly, Turing is a celebrated practitioner in the fields of computer science, mathematics and cryptanalysis. Dumbledore is one of the greatest wizards ever lived.

Cumberbatch was so good in portraying Turing. I have no doubt he will do excellently in being Dumbledore.

In the movie, it was the small things that Cumberbatch do that gave me some clues that he was actually portraying a gay character. Also, the boy playing the young Turing was brilliant.

It was only during the second half of the movie that it was openly revealed that Turing was gay and then boom! That explains all those nuances and subtle expressions. Brilliant!

Some say the young Dumbledore in the next Fantastic Beasts movie will be openly gay. So, it won’t be subtle and faint. (Click here to know more.)

But what the hey! All the more that I became excited as to how Cumberbatch will do it this time around.

3. The Imitation Game movie prepared him for the big role.

There are many scenes in the film that made me jump from my seat and point to the screen while screaming, “That’s Dumbledore!” But don’t get me wrong, I did not enjoy the film just because of that.

The Imitation Game is a huge masterpiece in itself and it should be seen by wizards and muggles alike.

Below are some the scenes I was talking about – with some screenshots from the film.

a. Inside the train.

No that is not Professor Dumbledore aboard the Hogwarts Express. That's Alan Turing. This is the first scene which started me imagining Cumberbatch as young Dumbledore.

b. Christopher Morcom looking at young Alan Turing with affection

Do you see young Grindelwald and young Dumbledore? No that's Christopher Morcom and the young Alan Turing.

c. Young Alan Turing waiting for his friend in the school’s frontyard

No, those are no Quidditch balls inside those trunks. Sorry.

d. Young Alan Turing feeling down  because Christopher did not arrive at the school

I thought I saw Hogwarts' windows.

e. Alan Turing successfully decoding the German ciphers along with his teammates

Just like Dumbledore being good in what he does.

f. Alan Turing under investigation

Dumbledore had his vulnerable moments too.

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3 Lessons I Learned From The Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them Movie

1. Don’t judge a beast by its cover.

Newt Scamander will pass for an animal rights activist in the modern day time.

Even in the magical world, the magical beasts were mostly feared and misunderstood. They have the capacity to kill and destroy. But that’s because not too many are like Newt, a magizoologist, who dedicated his life training, taming and understanding them and even studying their benefits to the wizarding world.

Without Newt’s influence, there may be no Buckbeak nor thestrals which are very important creatures in the whole Harry Potter saga.

For muggles or no-maj’s who are clueless, Buckbeak is the giant bird which Harry and Hermione rode on during the Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban movie. It’s the same bird that you’ll also see in the front cover of the book with the same title. It was illustrated by Mary Grandpre for Scholastic.

Thestrals, on the other hand, are the invisible winged horses being used by Hogwarts to transport its students from Hogsmeade to the castle. The thestrals are very powerful magical beasts that its tail hair was the one used to create the Elder Wand, the most powerful wand ever made.

One of the things that I learned in Fantastic Beasts is that we can’t always judge anything or anyone through the outer appearance. What’s ugly or scary is not necessarily evil.

The exact opposite is Grindelwald, which was described by Rowling as charismatic and brilliant. This wizard turned out to be one of the most dangerous wizards of his time until he was defeated by Dumbledore.

This character is to be played more extensively by Johnny Depp in the next Fantastic Beasts movies. Can’t wait!

2. Do not suppress your magic.

This blog is by no means supporting any kind of witchcraft, sorcery, divination or any related practice whatsoever.

I’d like to consider magic as a metaphor for our innate talents and skills which, I believe, we should develop and hone.

Rowling made a beautiful story through the Fantastic Beasts movie about the magical children who denied and suppressed their own magical abilities. Because of persecution of the witches and wizards in the past, some children with magical abilities chose to hide their abilities. This character was portrayed by the young man named Credence Barebone. 

And we know what happened to Credence. He became an obscurial for suppressing his magical abilities.

I believe that this is not too different in real life. One of the most tragic things that could happen to anyone is to deny himself of the development and enjoyment of his talents and abilities just to avoid persecution. 

Rowling made a persuasive invitation to discover and develop our talents and skills by painting a perfect (and scary) image of what can happen to us if we don’t – an obscurial.

3. Hufflepuff’s are not duffers.

“Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o’ duffers.” –Hagrid to Harry, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Among the four houses in Howarts, Hufflepuff may be the most unpopular one. 

It was said that if you are courageous, you go to Gryffindor. If you are a pureblood, you belong to Slytherin. If you are brilliant, you may be sorted to Ravenclaw. All the rest, go to Hufflepuff.

But Rowling, being who she is, is a huge lover of the underdogs and the unpopular ones.

Hogwart’s representative for The Triwizard Tournament during Harry’s time was from Hufflepuff – Cedric Diggory. And then Newt Scamander, the star of the first Fantastic Beasts movie, is a Hufflepuff.

In the world of J.K. Rowling, the bullied and the downtrodden ones take the center stage. 

I sincerely believe  that this is the reason why her books are loved by many. 

That includes myself.