26 Nov – A few days after Johnny Depp announced earlier this month that he has been dropped from the "Fantastic Beasts" franchise, talks started circulating of Mads Mikkelsen being his possible replacement. Just last week, Mikkelsen denied such reports, but today Deadline updated that the Danish actor is indeed joining the popular franchise. Mikkelsen reportedly has always been director David Yates' top choice to take over the Gellert Grindelwald role played by Depp in the previous two instalments. Depp's Grindelwald had a brief appearance in 2016's "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" but was featured more prominently – being the titular character, after all – in 2018's "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald". There's no info yet on how big Mikkelsen's Grindelwald role will be in the yet-to-be-officially-titled "Fantastic Beasts 3".
Mikkelsen joins a cast led by Eddie Redmayne and Jude Law, with Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol and Dan Fogler also returning as part of the main cast. The third instalment of the "Harry Potter" spinoff series is currently filming at Warner Bros Studios Leavesden, England. Previously slated for release in November 2021, "Fantastic Beasts 3" is now scheduled to open in North American cinemas on 15 July 2022. Prior to his Grindelwald debut, Mikkelsen, who starred in this year's "Another Round" and "Riders of Justice", will first be seen in 2021's "Chaos Walking", which also stars Daisy Ridley, Tom Holland, Demián Bichir, David Oyelowo and Nick Jonas.