Johnny Depp Confirms Fantastic Beasts 3 Casting
SPOILER WARNING: This article contains potential spoilers for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, in theaters Nov. 16.
Johnny Depp seems to have confirmed his involvement in the upcoming Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 3.
The actor, who plays the dark wizard Grindelwald in the series, casually revealed his involvement to the next chapter in the Harry Potter universe during an interview for the upcoming Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.
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Speaking to Collider, Depp said that he enjoyed playing the character, and the freedom the world allows him to explore characters. Depp explained, “I loved it because that’s really an arena where you can fly around and try different things and approach a character… who is teetering on being a fascist, yeah he’s a fascist,” he continued, “but to play him as a sensitive, concerned yet manipulative and powerful wizard. The possibilities in that world are wide open, so you can really try anything.”
Depp then casually dropped the fact that he’s slated to appear in the next film, saying “So it was a gas and I look forward to the next installment, which I think we start the middle of next year.”
According to the lore of Harry Potter, the character of Grindelwald is eventually beaten by a young Albus Dumbledore during the heyday of World War II. Grindelwald is imprisoned for decades and eventually killed by Voldemort during the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Depp’s commitment to the next Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them sequel makes sense within the context of the series and the history of the franchise. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them as a spin-off series is slated to run for four films.
However, the controversy that has surrounded Depp following domestic assault accusations from his ex-wife Amber Heard still hangs over the series, with many calling for Warner Bros. to separate from the actor. As it stands, it seems like Depp will be keeping the roll going forward, and is expected to return to the role for the next film regardless of the events of the next chapter.
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Directed by Potter film alum David Yates, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is the second installment in the Fantastic Beasts franchise. It stars Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Zoë Kravitz, Claudia Kim, William Nadylam, Kevin Guthrie, Jude Law, Johnny Depp, Eddie Redmayne and Callum Turner. The film hits theaters on Nov. 16.
