Fantastic Beasts 2: What THAT Nagini twist could mean for Voldemort in Harry Potter

Yesterday the new trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald confirmed that Nagini was originally a Maledictus; a woman inflicted with a blood curse that leaves her able to transform between human and snake form.

Fans will already know that there will come a point at which she remains a permanent serpent, and ultimately becomes Lord Voldemort’s right-hand-snake in the Potter books and movies.

On Reddit, user Obversa has been 94% upvoted for a brilliant theory focussing on what exactly this new twist means for Voldemort’s physical form in the fourth part of the Potter series.

They point to a line in the book that indicates Nagini was “milked” for his personal consumption.

The theorist added: “Now, previously to this, when Lord Voldemort inhabited the body of Quirrell, he killed unicorns, and drank unicorn blood, in order to ‘sustain’ his form [as evidenced in Sorcerer’s/Philosopher’s Stone].”

Indeed, a passage from that first book specifies that despite the phenomenal healing power of unicorn blood, “you will have but a half life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips”.

Obversa adds: “And we now know that Nagini herself was ‘cursed’ from birth.

“Without unicorn blood to sustain him, what if Lord Voldemort sought out the next best thing: the ’cursed”’ venom, and/or blood, of a Maledictus?

“We also know that Voldemort’s resurrected form looked like a grotesque hybrid, half-man, and half-snake.

“Rowling describes his appearance: ‘tall and skeletally thin’, with a face ‘whiter than a skull, with wide, livid scarlet eyes and a nose that was as flat as a snake’s with slits for nostrils, his hands were like large, pale spiders; his long white fingers caressed his own chest, his arms, his face; the red eyes, whose pupils were slits, like a cat’s, gleamed still more brightly through the darkness’.

“Could it be that, by regularly ingesting Nagini’s magical venom, and possibly also her blood, that Voldemort was not only able to sustain himself (he also notes himself ‘growing stronger’ off of the dark magic imbued in Nagini’s venom), but also to create the monstrous, beastly form we saw in Goblet of Fire?

“I’d say it’s definitely possible.”

Hundreds of Reddit users seem to agree, and fans will have to wait to see the remaining Fantastic Beasts movies to see if any more of the connection between Nagini and Voldemort is illustrated.

The reveal of the character’s humanoid form has caused a lot of excitement in the fanbase – but Claudia Kim’s casting has also raised accusations of racial insensitivity.

Some have argued that, given the big lack of women of colour in the franchise’s principle cast, the decision to cast only the second East Asian woman (after Cho Chang) in a part that ultimately becomes a Nazi-inspired villain’s pet is somewhat problematic.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is out on November 16.