Hollywood moves fast, even during a pandemic. No less than a month after Warner Bros. announced the departure of Johnny Depp from the Fantastic Beasts franchise, the studio has already landed on a replacement.
Hannibal star Mads Mikkelsen has officially signed on to replace Depp as Gellert Grindelwald. The behind-the-scenes brevity makes sense, seeing how the film is already in production following postponements to COVID-19.
Mikkelsen will be the third star to portray the villain. Prior to Depp, Colin Farrell had worn Grindelwald’s seemingly ever-changing mug, all before exiting stage left by the end of 2016’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
The untitled third adventure in the Harry Potter prequel series hits theaters on July 15th, 2022. David Yates returns to helm the picture, which brings back Jude Law as Albus Dumbledore and Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander.
Not gonna lie, we’re all-in on Mikkelsen, but we’ll see. Until then, the Danish wonder can be seen next in Thomas Vinterberg’s Another Round, which hits limited theaters on December 4th and On-Demand a few weeks later on December 18th.
There’s also always Hannibal. Bon appetit, indeed.
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