Well, that settles that. The Elder Wand, one of the three Deathly Hallows, is definitely in Grindelwald's possession during the events of this movie. There is simply no mistaking its recognisable berry-esque carvings that we remember oh-so-well from the Harry Potter films.
The movie reveals that one of Grindelwald's followers is a Carrow – part of the same Carrow family who pledged themselves to Voldemort years later and, for a while at least, even took up teaching posts at Hogwarts.
Gellert Grindelwald
Being summoned at that point due to an ongoing conflict at Malfoy Manor, Voldemort murdered Grindelwald in a rage without gaining any information. However, Voldemort deduced that Dumbledore, who had defeated Grindelwald, had won the Elder Wand, and headed off to his grave.
According to Rowling's Deathly Hallows novel, Grindelwald first gains possession of the wand sometime before the original Fantastic Beasts movie by stealing it from world famous wandmaker Mykew Gregorovitch and stunning him with a spell, thus gaining the wand's allegiance.
What made things interesting was that Grindelwald had refused to tell Voldemort where the Elder Wand was. He knew that Dumbledore was the current owner and he probably worked out that it remained with Dumbledore in his tomb.
It was only during the confrontation in Grindelwald's cell that Voldemort learned Albus Dumbledore had claimed the wand long ago. Grindelwald showed no fear during this confrontation, taunting Voldemort by name and laughing at his desire for the wand.
Grindelwald Is More Powerful and Cunning Than Voldemort
Grindelwald had more power in the Wizarding World up till the final moments of his life. He had more followers, and they were intensely loyal to him. He conquered more of the globe and could perform more advanced forms of magic.
Dumbledore and Grindelwald took a blood oath to not fight each other. "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald," the second film in the series, reveals that as teenagers Dumbledore and Grindelwald undertook a blood pact that wouldn't allow them to move against each other.
At different points, Dumbledore possessed all three Deathly Hallows. He won the Elder Wand from Grindelwald, had the Invisibility Cloak in his possession when James Potter died, and wore the Resurrection Stone as it sat in Marvolo Gaunt's ring.
The name Gellert Grindelwald only appears in the archives later – in the first volume of the Harry Potter series where he is mentioned only briefly on the back of Albus Dumbledore's chocolate frog card.
It was said he felt remorse after a few years locked up, so he lied to Voldemort and knew enough occlumency to make Voldy believe him. As Dumbledore suggested, he lied so that Voldemort couldn't take over because he felt remorse, or as Harry suggested, he lied so Voldemort wouldn't open Dumbledore's tomb.
Even decades after the duel with his old friend (or even lover, depending on who you ask), Gellert Grindelwald still valued their past relationship. Voldemort was a bit of a personal rival for him since he was Dumbledore's enemy, and Grindelwald didn't want to help him.
Grindelwald was infatuated with Dumbledore. Both ingenious wizards with somewhat extreme ambitions, the two became inspired to find the Deathly Hallows and lead a revolution that would destroy the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, allowing wizards to rise as benign worldly overlords.
Tom Riddle, Lord Voldemort was a wizard and the Dark Lord of the Death Eaters.
But let's not forget Grindelwald actually appeared in the Harry Potter movies: in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I, the evil Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) seeks out the older Grindelwald (played by Michael Byrne) to learn the location of the Elder Wand (Grindelwald is seen possessing this same wand in the ...
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore confirmed that Credence Barebone/Aurelius Dumbledore (Ezra Miller) is the new Snape (Alan Rickman) through a very familiar line delivered by Aberforth Dumbledore (Richard Coyle).
The big “secret” about the Dumbeldore family that the title promises is actually an explanation of the last film's cliffhanger. Albus confirms to Creedence early on in the film that he is in fact a Dumbledore, quashing any rumor that Grindelwald had lied to the young boy in order to sway him to his movement.
James inherited the cloak from his father, Fleamont Potter, who inherited it as a descendant of Iolanthe Peverell -- a granddaughter of Ignotus Peverell. The cloak passed down through generations of the family until it reached James and then Harry.
"Dumbledore fell in love with Grindelwald" and was "blinded" by it. "This was Dumbledore's tragedy."
Given that the third film takes place in the early 1930s, we still have a little over a decade to go until the legendary duel in 1945 that netted Albus the Elder Wand (one of the Deathly Hallows) and saw Grindelwald trapped in his own castle until he was murdered by Voldemort years later.
Breaking the Pact Allowed Dumbledore and Grindelwald To Duel
As Albus would rationalize later with Newt, his spell was meant to protect, and it canceled out Grindelwald's, which was meant to kill a Dumbledore. Thus, this blocking nullified the ritual, shattering the pact and allowing Albus to battle his ex.
In short, Grindelwald believes that Credence is the only entity alive who can kill Dumbledore because he plans to exploit Dumbledore's regret and guilt over Ariana's death.
Who is actually more powerful between Severus Snape and Gellert Grindelwald? Grindelwald. Grindelwald is renowned on the same level as Dumbledore and Voldemort. And while Snape is powerful, he is nowhere close to Grindelwald.
The only one Grindelwald did seem to have genuine fear of appears to be Albus Dumbledore, as he quickly fled the scene after Ariana was killed trying to intervene in a duel he started, and later in life when he refrained from attacking England despite his possession of the Elder Wand out of fear of his former friend.