Recently,Johnny Deppwas cast inFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2in an unspecified role. There had been speculation that he will be playing Gellert Grindelwald, “a dark wizard who was once a friend ofAlbus Dumbledore”. Thanks to directorDavid Yates, we can now confirm that is indeed going to be the case.
David Yatesrecently did an interview with theHarry Potterfan siteThe Leaky Cauldron. During the interview, the subject ofJohnny Depp’s casting came up and not only was it confirmed that he is playing Grindelwald, but the director also talked quite a bit about the decision. Here is what he had to say.
“The whole principal of casting the movie was go with the best actor. Go for the most inspired, interesting, right fit for that character. And as we approached Grindelwald we thought, ‘Who’s going to take this in an interesting direction?’ In this business, it’s a weird old business. You’re brilliant one week, people are saying odd things the next, you go up and down. But no one takes away your pure talent.Johnny Deppis a real artist. He’s created several characters who have really resonated in our popular culture. He’s a really brilliant, brilliant actor. We were excited about seeing what he would do with this guy, the character. He’s fearless; he’s imaginative; he’s ambitious. We thought he would do something fun and special. So we went for him, purely on that selfish basis. We don’t care if he’s famous or not famous. We just know he’s interesting.”
David Yatesalso recently confirmed that a young version of Dumbledore will appear inFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2, but an actor has yet to be cast. It is definitely starting to seem like we will eventually get to see the famous Grindelwald/Dumbledore duel. One can only hope. Outside of that, the director also confirmed that the next movie in the series will be taking place in Paris, but also in the U.K., returning to the setting of the originalHarry Pottermovies.
“We do go back to the U.K. in the second film as well-it’s U.K. andParis. I’m not sure where Jo is setting the rest of the movies, but they’ll be European-centric. I think it will be difficult to ignore America, but the next one is predominately Europe.”
The firstFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Themtakes place in New York in 1926 and followsNewt Scamander(played byEddie Redmayne) as he tries to round up a bunch of magical creatures who manage to get loose in the city. So given the setting for the first movie, it makes sense that America will factor into the sequels, but it is also significant that the sequels will largely take place in Europe. In addition to the setting,David Yatesdivulged a bit more information on another character. According toDavid Yates,Ezra Miller, who is playing a character named Credence, will have a significant role inFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2.
“Credence, we follow Credence further. He becomes quite pivotal actually, Credence is quite crucial.”
So even thoughFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Themhas yet to be released, the franchise is starting to take shape. It seems like the sequels will be establishing more connective tissue between this new series of movies and theHarry Pottermovies. They will also be exploring elements ofHarry Potterlore, like the relationship betweenJohnny Depp’s Grindelwald and Albus Dumbledore.Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Themopens in theaters on November 18 withFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2set for release on June 06, 2025. Assuming those do well,J.K. Rowlinghas laid out plans for as many as five movies, which will come out every couple of years.
