With the recent release of the final trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, which led to the reveal of Nagini being a Maledictus, J.K. Rowling took to Twitter to answer some fan theories.
One big theory that Rowling herself thought she squashed down years ago, was that Nagini was the boa constrictor from The Reptile House at the London Zoo in the very first film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s (Philosopher’s) Stone.
A fan asked, “And Nagini ended up in a zoo?!” To which Rowling responded immediately, “Noooo… I thought I’d shot that one down! The escaped boa constrictor in Philosopher’s Stone wasn’t Nagini. It was never Nagini. That’s an incorrect but very persistent fan theory!”
Noooo… I thought I’d shot that one down! The escaped boa constrictor in Philosopher’s Stone wasn’t Nagini. It was never Nagini. That’s an incorrect but very persistent fan theory! https://t.co/QEy89kwloA
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) September 25, 2018
Other questions Rowling answered were about the difference between an Animagus and a Maledictus. She said there is a huge difference between the two, and went into detail when someone asked if lycanthropy is a strain or branch of a Maledictus.
“They’re different conditions. Maledictuses are always women, whereas werewolves can be either sex. The Maledictus carries a blood curse from birth, which is passed down from mother to daughter,” Rowling said.
Rowling also said that she has been holding onto the secret of Nagini being a Maledictus for around 20 years.