After Johnny Depp honored Warner Bros.' request for him to step down from the role of Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts films, Hannibal star Mads Mikkelsen was tapped to replace him as the antagonistic Dark Wizard. Now, Mikkelsen has opened up about his response to being cast as the villain of the Harry Potter prequels and what challenges he expects to face in accepting the role.
Warner Bros. had requested Depp's resignation after the actor lost a libel case against The Sun. In 2018, the British tabloid had published an article alleging Depp was abusive towards then-wife Amber Heard. While a U.K. judge acknowledged that Depp's reputation had been damaged by the article, the tabloid's publisher was found to have proven the story to be "substantially true."
While Mikkelsen had previously played coy about being cast as Depp's replacement in Fantastic Beasts 3, the Danish actor has now offered some insight into how he plans to approach playing an already-established character. "Well it's going to be me, so that's a difference," Mikkelsen said during an interview with Entertainment Weekly. "No, 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 acclaimed actor also noted that while it was "super interesting and nice" to have been cast as Grindelwald, the circumstances were surprising and unfortunate. "It's also a shocker that it came after what happened, which is just super sad. I wish both of them the best. These are sad circumstances. I hope both of them will be back in the saddle again really soon," he said.
Despite Depp's exit, the terms of his contract stipulated that he will still receive his full 8 figure salary. Fortunately, production was not severely impacted by Depp's departure as he reportedly shot only one scene for Fantastic Beasts 3 at the time. However, Warner Bros. did push back the release date of the film from November 2021 to summer 2022.
Before Mikkelsen had been cast as the new Grindelwald, some fans suggested Colin Farrell would be ideal for the role considering he played a disguised version of the villain in the first Fantastic Beasts film. However, Farell's commitment to portraying the Penguin in The Batman reportedly prevented him from returning to the Harry Potter prequels.
Meanwhile, fans of Mikkelsen's work likely have no doubt that he is capable of rising to the task of playing Grindelwald. After all, he already has experience successfully portraying a character that audiences associate with another actor as the star of Hannibal, in which he played the titular cannibal for the show's three-season run.
Fantastic Beasts 3 is scheduled to be released in theaters on July 15, 2022.
Source: Entertainment Weekly