Johnny Depp will not be returning to play Grindelwald in the third Fantastic Beasts movie, but it seems like director David Yates already has a favorite for his replacement. Deadline reported that Mads Mikkelsen is on the top of the list being considered and that initial talks with him have begun.
Grindelwald will not be the first villain in Mikkelsen’s career. The Danish actor’s resume includes an evil sorcerer in Doctor Strange, the banker Le Chiffre in Casino Royalle, and Dr. Hannibal Lecter in Hannibal. He also portrayed Galen Erso in Rough One: A Star Wars Story.
Apparently, Depp was asked to leave after only one day of filming, but got paid for the entire movie. However, he had a five-movie contract, which he of course lost now.
Fantastic Beasts 3 is due to be released in the summer of 2022 after being postponed from its original November 12, 2021 release date. It stars Eddie Redmayne and Jude Law.
