With Johnny Depp having departed the role of dark wizard Gellart Grindelwald and subsequently being replaced by Mads Mikkelsen, the third entry in Warners’ “Fantastic Beasts” franchise suddenly got a lot more appealing.
Mikkelsen, who initially played coy about his casting, has now spoken about taking over the role of what is essentially the main villain of the “Harry Potter” spin-off series. Talking with EW about the character’s transformation, he was asked how his approach will be different:
“This is the tricky part. We’re still working it out. There has to be a bridge between what Johnny did and what I’m going to do. And at the same time, I also have to make it my own. But also we have to find a few links [to the previous version of the character] and some bridges so it doesn’t completely detach from what he’s already masterfully achieved.”
The new film is currently in production and is currently scheduled to be released on July 14th 2022. Mikkelsen’s recent film “Riders of Justice” was recently acquired by Magnet Releasing for a Spring release. That film follows a military man who returns home determined to exact revenge after his wife is killed in a train accident that he learns was foul play.