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“Hannibal” and “Doctor Strange” actor Mads Mikkelsen is in early talks to play the role of dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald in “Fantastic Beasts 3”, replacing Johnny Depp in the role, Variety confirmed.
After playing Grindelwald in the first two “Fantastic Beasts” films, Depp announced on Friday that Warner Bros. asked him to “step down” from the role after Depp lost his libel case in the UK over allegations of abuse by ex-wife Amber Heard.
“Fantastic Beasts 3” is currently in production in the UK. According to a source close to the project, Depp had only shot one scene as Grindelwald before leaving the film, so Mikkelsen wouldn’t need to replicate a lot of footage.
Grindelwald’s role is truly in Mikkelsen’s wheelhouse to play painstakingly intelligent villains. As conceived by author JK Rowling, Grindelwald is a brilliant and ruthless dark wizard who in his youth had a complicated romantic relationship with famous wizard Albus Dumbledore (played by Jude Law in the “Fantastic Beasts” movies). If one was feeling adventurous, one might compare the Grindelwald / Dumbledore relationship to the homoerotic psycho-sexual tension between Mikkelsen’s Hannibal Lecter and Hugh Dancy’s FBI profiler Will Graham on NBC’s favorite cult series “Hannibal” – though , so far Rowling has not. depicts his character devouring his victims.
If Mikkelsen’s deal goes through, along with Law he will join franchise stars Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol and Ezra Miller. David Yates directs the film from a screenplay by Rowling and Steve Kloves; Rowling, Kloves, David Heyman and Lionel Wigram produce. “Fantastic Beasts 3” is scheduled to open on July 15, 2022.
Deadline first broke the news.
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