Will Ariana be one of the Secrets of Dumbledore we see in the Next Fantastic Beasts Film?

After our lively conversation about the posters for the upcoming Fantastic Beasts:  The Secrets of Dumbledore, due out April 15, I think it  is safe to say that curiosity is high about the film and about just what secrets might be revealed by and about Dumbledore and his family. Last month, Mugglenet published photos that had been taken during production on the second film, photos of an actress depicting Ariana Dumbledore in scenes that were evidently cut from the final version. It’s anyone’s guess if Ariana will appear in the new film, but there are a few interesting aspects that might be fun to ponder as we hope to learn more about Dumbledore, a character who has the distinction of always being courteous and friendly, while simultaneously holding his cards so close to his robes that hardly anyone really knows him, and those who think they do sometimes aren’t sure.

Any scene with Ariana will have to be a flashback, Pensieve, or Mirror of Erised experience, of course, so perhaps the footage shot for the second film could be used for the new one. After the jump, I have a few quick observations on these photos and their potential.

1. Beautiful costuming! As the Hogwarts Professor resident period-clothing nerd, I am entranced by the lovely dresses and shoes Ariana wears. These are better, I think, than the dress she wears in the painting in the second Deathly Hallows film.  Great care  has been taken with the fit, which is very nice, and in one of the photos she sports lovely curls, the likely hairdo used in the filming, as she has them with both of the costume styles. It’s clear that the Dumbledores’ social standing is high and that Albus is not the only fashion-conscious family member.
2. Symbolic attention to detail! As those posters show, the design teams working on the Fantastic Beasts are detail ninjas. We can only see one costume in its entirety. The dark number with the red piping and trim around the buttons is pretty, so it would be nice to see more, but the photo only shows the top of the dress (and some of the crew in what might be the Dumbledore house). We do have the entire blue ensemble. That blue dress, aside from being lovely, has precisely 12 buttons on the bodice and 12 on the skirt (6 to a side) for a symbolic knock-out punch of 24. The symmetry is important, of course, but the symbolism is even better. The number twelve, like the number seven, is a common thread in the Hogwarts adventures, and its use is seldom accidental. One of my favorites is that Dumbledore’s discovery of the twelve uses of dragon blood is listed on his Chocolate Frog card, between his defeat of Grindelwald, which we know will happen in one of these movies, and his work on alchemy with Nicolas Flamel, the set-up for the first of Harry’s stories.  We’ve all been hoping to learn more about that dragon blood research, so perhaps that is a secret we’ll get in this film. 

Those buttons, with the numbers reflecting the months and the hours on the clock, are, very importantly, a sad reminder that poor Ariana’s days are numbered.

3. Casting questions? Many people are asking about identity of the young actress in the photos. Oddly enough, on the IMDB page for the film, the part of Ariana Dumbledore is listed as being played by Hebe Beardsall, who portrayed Dumbledore’s sister in The Deathly Hallows Part 2, walking through her portrait to assist the Trio in their sneaky entrance to the Dumbledore’s Army hideout inside Hogwarts. That was apparently her first film, and it was eleven years ago, so, if she is still playing Ariana’s portrait, some movie magic is probably being used to make her look younger and to match the previous film. However, the actress in the new photos is much younger, so it is still possible she may be used in scenes that take place earlier in her sad story, and Beardsall may portray her later. With Aberforth appearing, it would be strange to have no contribution from Ariana, however tragic. I have felt all along that “the secrets of Dumbledore” could refer to the whole family, not just Albus, so that also remains a factor.

When we finally do get to see the film, we’ll see if those photos are mere relics of what might have been, or if they are, in fact, evidence of some cinematic gem that might appear in this new setting!

Thoughts? Predictions? Questions about fashions of the past?