Credence is probably one of the more unknown characters introduced in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. An orphan raised by a magic-hating foster mother, Credence barely speaks five words combined in the trailers leading up to the release of the Harry Potter prequel. He's also one of the few characters never seen holding a wand, nor in direct proximity to any part of the wizarding world, save for his close interactions with Percival Graves. Credence is a mysterious enough character without the added question of his true parentage. Who Credence's parents are in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is not known, but that doesn't mean fans aren't dying to find out.
Credence (Ezra Miller), himself, has never met his biological parents, and they are not revealed in Fantastic Beasts . However, it's obvious that they are important, at the very least to Credence himself. In the film, Credence has an extremely tense relationship with his foster mother, Mary Lou, who heads the New Salem Philanthropic Society in New York City, a group hellbent on persecuting witches and wizards. Played by Samantha Morton, Mary Lou can be seen in trailers breaking a wand in half and advertising anti-wizard beliefs. Credence, however, is spotted sharing the screen with Percival, a wizard, suggesting that he might not be as intolerable as his foster mother.
Assuming Credence isn't under the imperius curse and is, in fact, working with Graves of his own free will, it wouldn't be too big of a leap to say that he could actually come from a wizarding family. Perhaps Credence's parents were wizards who died when he was a baby, like Harry's parents. Whether or not Credence's parents were wizards, it does seem clear that Credence's parentage has some kind of significance. "He becomes quite pivotal actually, Credence is quite crucial," said director David Yates during roundtable interviews, via The Leaky Cauldron, when asked about future films.
There are already a few theories already out there on Credence's lineage. One theory, from Movie Pilot, suggests that Credence is actually Tom Riddle, Sr., aka Papa Voldemort. But that seems unlike for multiple reasons (not the least of which is Credence's American nationality). But that doesn't mean that Credence couldn't be related to a different Harry Potter family. Here's my theory based solely on what I've said above and this one edit from one of the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them promotional featurettes — Credence is somehow descendant of the Peverell family. Just look at the evidence:
This above cut from the symbol of the Deathly Hallows to Credence, found in the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them IMAX Fan Event Featurette, suggests a relation between the two. It's pretty obvious that the shots do not follow one another, at least not chronologically, and admittedly, they could just be trying to fool us. However, if Credence were to believe in the Deathly Hollows then he could, theoretically, be a Peverell descendant. Which, in turn, would make him a relative of Harry Potter! You have to admit, Credence does have a certain Harry Potter-esque look — dark hair, pale skin. OK, so, the evidence isn't all that convincing, but, hey, a girl can dream, right?
Hopefully we'll find out the actual identities of Credence's biological parents before the Fantastic Beasts series comes to an end. In the meantime, bring on the theories.
Images: Warner Bros Pictures; hardyness/tumblr (2)
