Dumbledore confesses his love to Grindelwald in new Fantastic Beasts trailer

Grindelwald is now played by Mads Mikkelsen, who has replaced Johnny Depp in the role

Harry Potter fans are reacting to the latest trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, which sees the hero confess his love to his rival, Grindelwald.

A short TV spot shows the two characters in discussion about the evil Grindelwald’s plans to take over the world.

When Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen) implies that Dumbledore (Jude Law) promised he’d be by his side, he replies: “It’s because I was in love with you.”

In the Harry Potter books, it was hinted that a romantic relationship existed between the two characters and author JK Rowling later confirmed that Dumbledore was gay.

Fans have reacted to the clip on social media, with the reception being overwhelmingly positive.

A lot of the praise has been directed at Mikkelsen, who replaced Johnny Depp in the role of Grindelwald after Depp lost his libel case against The Sun for labelling him a “wife beater”.

“Mads Mikkelsen. That’s it. That’s the tweet,” wrote one fan, while another joked: “The way Mads Mikkelsen makes everything gay and evil he is the love of my life”.

Others praised the moment for making the series more inclusive. Rowling had said Dumbledore was gay, this was never addressed explicitly in either the books or films before this trailer.

One person wrote on Twitter: “A small victory for the LGBTQ community for sure. At least now it’s canon.”

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is released in cinemas 8 April.