Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them goes surprisingly political in latest trailer

A new trailer for the Harry Potter prequel Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them premiered at San Diego Comic-Con today. While it shows off all the fantastic new parts of J.K. Rowling’s American wizarding world, it also comes with a message that is surprisingly relevant this election season.

The trailer has some material that we’ve seen before: Eddie Redmayne’s Newt Scamander arrives in 1926 New York City along with a suitcase full of magical creatures. Predictably, they escape, putting magical authorities after Scamander, while throwing the magical world into disarray.

There are two lines in particular that stand out: “We’re going to recapture my creatures before they get hurt. They’re currently in alien terrain, surrounded by the most vicious creatures on the planet: humans.” It’s a particularly nihilistic quip from Rowling’s world, especially once it’s followed a moment later with “Magical beasts are terrorizing No-Majs. When No-Majs are afraid, they attack.”

What does that sound like?

The conflict between the wizarding and Muggle / No-Maj worlds is something that Rowling never really touched in the main Harry Potter series, so it’s interesting to see the shift in tone, especially in the current political climate. Rowling has been extremely outspoken about her political beliefs online, which makes sense when you learn that Harry Potter fans are more likely to reject Donald Trump.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them opens on November 18th.