Warner Bros. has confirmed on Wednesday that Mads Mikkelsen will replace Johnny Depp as Gellert Grindelwald for Fantastic Beasts 3.
Filming for the third entry in the Fantastic Beasts series is currently underway outside of London at Harry Potter mainstay, Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden. While principal photography has started, a new Grindelwald has been cast after the studio asked Johnny Depp to step down from the role of the Fantastic Beasts heavy after losing a libel case. Soon after, it was reported that Mads Mikkelsen was in talks to replace Depp as the dark wizard.
On Wednesday, Warner Bros. confirmed that Casino Royale and Rogue One star Mads Mikkelsen will indeed take over the Gellert Grindelwald role from Johnny Depp for Fantastic Beasts 3 as production resumes. Mikkelsen becomes the fourth actor to portray the notorious villain of the Wizarding World. While Depp played Grindelwald in the first two Fantastic Beasts films, Michael Byrne and Jamie Campbell Bower also portrayed the character in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 with Bower reprising the role in The Crimes of Grindelwald.
Do you like the choice of Mads Mikkelsen as Gellert Grindelwald? Comment below!
Here is the official synopsis for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald:
At the end of the first film, the powerful dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald was captured by MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States of America), with the help of Newt Scamander. But, making good on his threat, Grindelwald escaped custody and has set about gathering followers, most unsuspecting of his true agenda: to raise wizards and witches up to rule over all non-magical beings.
Directed by David Yates from a script written by J. K. Rowling, the second film stars Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Zoë Kravitz, Callum Turner, Claudia Kim, William Nadylam, Kevin Guthrie, Jude Law, and Johnny Depp.
Fantastic Beasts 3 is currently scheduled for a July 15, 2022 release. Stay tuned for all the latest news on the Harry Potter franchise, Mads Mikkelsen, Johnny Depp, and be sure to subscribe to Heroic Hollywood’s YouTube channel for more video content!