‘Harry Potter’ Fans Furious At Professor McGonagall Error In ‘Fantastic Beasts 2’

The theatrical release of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is a week away and true Harry Potter fans have pretty mixed feelings. Some are thrilled about the opportunity to watch another addition to the Harry Potter universe. Others can’t ignore the glaring error to the original timeline in regards to recent Fantastic Beast 2 casting news.

As Inquisitr previously reported, a younger version of Professor Minerva McGonagall – played by Irish actress Fiona Glascott – is set to appear in Fantastic Beasts 2. While it is unclear how large of a role the young McGonagall will have in the sequel, Harry Potter fans are having a hard time wrapping their minds around how it is even possible for the character to exist in the timeline at all.

Why Are Harry Potter Fans So Upset?

The Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them plot took place during the year 1926. The plot of the sequel is set to take place a handful of months later in 1927. According to Harry Potter lore, the idea that a young Professor McGonagall could exist in the Fantastic Beasts timeline doesn’t make any sense because she hadn’t been born yet.

While neither the books nor the movies pinpointed exactly when McGonagall was born, true fans of the series have been able to work out her birth year to be 1935 based on the information available surrounding her character.

During the fifth book, The Order of the Phoenix, fans learned McGonagall started her career at Hogwarts back in December of 1956. Prior to that, she worked at the Ministry of Magic for two years after she graduated.

Doing the math backward, fans deduced she graduated in 1954, was a first-year student in 1947, and would have been born in 1935.

For Harry Potter fans, this piece of history makes it impossible for McGonagall to exist in the Fantastic Beasts timeline.

Known for having a huge and outspoken fan base, Harry Potter fans have taken to social media to let their concerns and frustrations for the glaring error in the timeline known.

Many Harry Potter fans have tagged J.K. Rowling begging her to explain how Minerva’s existence in the Fantastic Beasts timeline is even possible.

Others argued the Fantastic Beasts movies and Harry Potter movies could no longer be tied together because of the error.

Many took issue with the fact that Harry Potter lore confirmed McGonagall’s birthday to be 1935.

J.K. Rowling and the entire Harry Potter universe did have some fans come to their defense. These fans claimed that many were overreacting before they even had a chance to see the movie.

There were some fans who tried to make sense of the error. One fan pointed out maybe it was another member of the McGonagall family, given just how old Dumbledore is.

A second reminded everyone that time traveling was a real thing in Harry Potter. In fact, it was none other than McGonagall herself who gave the time turner to Hermione Granger.

Only time will tell if McGonagall’s appearance in Fantastic Beasts 2 is truly an error in the timeline or if the movie will explain how or why she is there.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald theatrical release date is November 16.