Fantastic Beasts 3’s Qilin Explained: Wizarding World & Real Mythology (2024)

WARNING! Contains SPOILERS for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledoresaw Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) rescue a baby Qilin and lose another to Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen), but what makes the Qilins so precious? Fantastic Beasts 3further explored Dumbledore (Jude Law) and Grindelwald's history while the Hogwarts headmaster rallied up an eclectic team of wizards and witches against his lover-turned-foe. But the movie also broughtNewt's magical creaturesto the forefront once more, with Pickett the Bowtruckle and Teddy the Niffler as returning characters and the Qilin as the movie's key magical creature.

In the first scenes of the third Fantastic Beasts film, Newt witnessed the very rare birth of twin Qilins in the bamboo forests of China, but he was not alone. Grindelwald sent Credence (Ezra Miller) to kill the Qilins' mother and takethe baby Qilin, unaware that there are two. Credence, who showed a drastic change of allegiance in the movie, spared the twin and left Newt to find and rescue it.The Qilin's magical powers were revealed through Grindelwald's cold-blooded pursuit of power: he killed it and charmed it back to life so that the Qilin bowed in front of him during the Supreme Mugwump election in Bhutan.

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Indeed, Grindelwald initially fooled(German series Dark actor Oliver Masucci's) Anton Vogel because the Qilins were known to the Wizarding World as rare, benevolent creatures with two very valuable magical powers: precognition and the ability to look into a person's soul and see if they're pure of heart.Qilins were thereforeused in the ancient tradition of choosingthe next Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards as they bow in front of the worthiest candidate. The Fantastic Beasts 3 Qilin was inspired by a mythical Chinese creature of the same name and similar powers.

Fantastic Beasts 3's Qilin: Origin & Magical Powers

The Qilin in the Wizarding World was shown to be a very rare creature and was only found in the Kweilin area in East China. Wizards had long revered this pure creature for its precognition power, which Sybill Trelawney taught as Divination. Tragically, this was what led Grindelwald to slay the baby Qilin. He harvested her power and used it to enhance his own Seer abilities. He thus found out the baby Qilin's twin survived and was in Newt's care, much to his chagrin. As he threatened Credence for lying to him, he pushed Credence one last time to the good side.

Finally, Grindelwald charmed the Qilin back to life via necromancy in order to use her other power. During the Walk of the Qilin Ceremony, the charmed Qilin chose Grindelwald as the right candidate, making it look like he was pure of heart and worthy of leading the International Confederation of Wizards. But Credence and Newt soon exposed Grindelwald'slies and revealed the twin Qilin, who was safe thanks to Bunty. She demonstrated her power by bowing in front of Dumbledore, urging her to choose another leader. The Qilin was thus shown as a very intelligent creature, too, as she understood Dumbledore and went on to chooseVicência Santos (Maria Fernanda Cândido) as the Supreme Mugwump.

Fantastic Beasts 3's Qilin In Chinese Mythology Explained

The Qilin in the Harry Potter universe was deeply inspired by the creature bearing the same name in Chinese mythology. The Qilin is often depicted as a deer or horse-like dragon, with scales, a flowing mane, antlers, and a beard. Their delicate voice can sound likebell chimesand the wind. It's described as a benevolent creature all around,but its powers vary from culture to culture. Taoist culture depicts the Qilin as a magical creature able to see inside a person's soul (there are several depictions ofQilinsused in trialsto find out if a defendant is guilty). Buddhist culture shows the Qilin as only appearing in areas where there is a benevolent ruler. Some depictions also show Qilins as the sacred pets of gods. It's thus clear thatFantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledoredrew inspiration from Chinese mythology when creating the delicate, benevolent Qilin.

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