Mads Mikkelsen Officially Replaces Johnny Depp in Fantastic Beasts 3

Mikkelsen to take over the role of dark wizard Grindelwald in the new Fantastic Beasts film

Mads Mikkelsen has officially replaced Johnny Depp in the role of Gellert Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts 3. The film was earlier to be released in 2021, but the coronavirus pandemic forced the schedule to be shifted to July 2022. It would be interesting to see how Mads Mikkelsen portrays the dangerous wizard on screen.

 

The journey of Fantastic Beasts began in 2016 when Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was released. It is a prequel film that is based on a book by the Harry Potter author JK Rowling. The prequel films have some characters like Gellert Grindelwald and Albus Dumbledore that featured in Harry Potter films as well.

 

Initially, the series focused on the character of Newt Scamander (played by Eddie Redmayne), but soon, the focus shifted to dark wizard Grindelwald (played by Johnny Depp) who had terrorized the wizarding world. The audience got to see Johnny Depp in the tail end of the first film, and then he had a bigger role in 2018’s film The Crimes of Grindelwald.

Johnny Depp was supposed to play the character of Grindelwald for the entire franchise, but he was asked to step down after he lost a libel case against a newspaper that had referred to the actor as “wife beater.” Warner Bros. asked him to step down soon after the incident and began the search for another actor who could replace Johnny Depp. Soon, the name of Mads Mikkelsen surfaced online, but the actor cleverly refuted the claims.

 

Now, it has been officially confirmed that Mads Mikkelsen will replace Johnny Depp and play the character of Grindelwald. Most of the cast of the Fantastic Beasts 3 would be the same as the second film. The names include Redmayne, Dan Fogler, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Jude Law and Ezra Miller.

 

For those of you who do not know who Mads Mikkelsen is and why he seems to be a good replacement for Johnny Depp, you should know that the actor has proven his worth many times. Most people remember him for portraying the character of Hannibal Lecter on the NBC series entitled Hannibal. He has also starred as Doctor Strange villain Kaecilius, Rogue One’s Galen Erso, and Casino Royale villain Le Chiffre. In essence, Mads Mikkelsen knows how to play a charismatic bad guy.

 

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