In a new interview, Mads Mikkelsen talks playing Fantastic Beasts 3's Grindelwald after Johnny Depp's abrupt departure. Starting with 2016's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Warner Bros. and J.K. Rowling's second Wizarding World franchise kicked off with the fun premise of magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) running across 1920s New York City in search of his missing magical creatures. However, a much larger story soon emerged as the Fantastic Beasts franchise grew to encompass the battle against dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald. For the first two installments, Johnny Depp played the charismatic villain, but that will no longer be the case.
In early November, Depp lost his libel case against The Sun, a publication that once called him a "wife-beater." As a result, Warner Bros. asked Depp to step down from the Fantastic Beasts franchise, leaving the role of Grindelwald wide open. Not long after, reports emerged Hannibal star Mikkelsen was the frontrunner for the part. Despite Mikkelsen briefly downplaying those rumors, Warner Bros. confirmed it just one week ago: Mads Mikkelsen is the Wizarding World's new Grindelwald.
For the first time, Mikkelsen has spoken up about his latest role. While talking to EW, Mikkelsen teased his new take on Grindelwald, explaining that while he wants to honor what came before, he will certainly be putting his own spin on the character. He couldn't give any concrete details, largely because he and, presumably, director David Yates are still crafting it, but he had some teases. Mikkelsen said:
"Well it's going to be me, so that's a difference. 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."
Mikkelsen also touched upon the circumstances in which he gained this role, admitting that, "Job wise, it's obviously super interesting and nice," but ultimately was "also a shocker that it came after what happened, which is just super sad." He wished Depp the best going forward. Fantastic Beasts 3 is currently in production and slated for release in July 2022. That means it'll be a while before fans see Mikkelsen's Grindelwald in all his glory, though presumably there will be some first looks and peeks along the way. Perhaps Warner Bros. will share something in the coming months as filming continues.
Mikkelsen's past work on projects like Hannibal and Doctor Strange have shown his talent for playing villains, and many are interested to see how he'll portray Grindelwald. Depp only had two movies to leave his mark on the role, the first of which only had him for a few minutes at the end. Therefore, it'll be fascinating to see what parts of his characterization continue on with Mikkelsen's performance. There's still much of Grindelwald's character to delve into, so Mikkelsen has plenty of opportunities to really make the role his own. Fantastic Beasts 3 is just the beginning of his journey.
Source: EW
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