While die-hard fans of the Harry Potter universe probably would have been happy if Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them simply gave some screen time to characters from the franchise’s vast lore, it turns out that author J.K. Rowling had something bigger in mind for her latest film. Fantastic Beasts retroactively raises the stakes by quite a bit, introducing a powerful enemy of wizards everywhere and hinting that the story of Newt Scamander and his companions has just begun.

Be thee warned, for there be spoilers beyond this point.

One of the major reveals of Fantastic Beasts is the existence of something called an Obscurus, a powerful dark force that results from childhood trauma experienced by young wizards. Over the course of the film, it is revealed that Ezra Miller’s Credence is actually an Obscurus in disguise, leading to a final and seemingly fatal confrontation between him and the wizardly special forces. As it turns out, though, Credence may actually be alive and well. Producer David Heyman sat down with CinemaBlend (via Heroic Hollywood) and admitted that Credence does indeed escape at the end of the movie, and they have the deleted scenes to prove it:

We actually had a scene, which we cut, which was Credence going to a boat, to get on a boat somewhere else. But we cut that, because we didn’t want to have it be such an, ‘Ahhh, here we go.’ … Him getting on a boat, maybe a boat with Newt, maybe not, and heading off out of New York.

Heyman also confirmed later in the interview that Credence would play a role in the upcoming sequels to the film, ensuring that Ezra Miller fans everywhere can breathe a sigh of relief. What does this mean for the future of the franchise? As a reminder, we’ve got four more movies coming from Rowling and director David Yates, so it would appear that the role that Credence and other Obscuruses play in the Fantastic Beasts universe has just begun. For now, though, if you’ve made it this far, content yourself with our spoiler-filled Fantastic Beasts discussion below let us know where you think the movies are headed.

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