Mads Mikkelsen to replace Johnny Depp in the 'Fantastic Beasts' franchise
Actor Mads Mikkelsen is in talks to replace Johnny Depp in the coveted role of Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them franchise.
Deadline has reported that the 54-year-old actor is in talks to take on the role of Fantastic Beasts 3, the once-Johnny Depp role in two movies.
Depp left the film franchise after losing his defamation case against The Sun earlier this month.
Warner Bros. revealed last week that Depp had been asked to resign from the role after the outcome of his trial was revealed, and the actor agreed.
The studio released a statement and said: “Johnny Depp will be leaving the Fantastic Beasts franchise. We thank Johnny for his work on the movies to date. Fantastic Beasts 3 is currently in production, and the role of Gellert Grindelwald will be recast. The film will be released in theaters around the world in the summer of 2022 ”.
Other names that were floating around to replace Depp included Colin Farrell, who actually played Grindelwald in disguise during the first movie, and Jamie Campbell Bower, who played the younger version of Grindelwald in a Harry Potter flashback to the franchise and the second. F fantastic beasts movie.
Mads Mikkelsen is best known for his role in Doctor Strange as Kaecilius, Hannibal, and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
He has also recently finished filming. Walking Chaos, which also starred Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley.
Meanwhile, Johnny Depp will receive more than $ 10 million for the latest Fantastic Animals movie despite filming only one scene before being kicked out of production.
Depp agreed to leave his position in the Harry Potter prequel series as the villainous Gellert Grindelwald after losing a libel suit for being accused of being a "wife beater."
His role will be recast before the film's release in 2022.
However, he will continue to receive his full salary for his work on the film due to a detail in his contract.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Depp has only shot one scene for the movie since production began in September, but due to his 'pay or play' contract, which is common with many A-list stars, he will be fully compensated. whether or not the film is made to recast.
The next Fantastic Won entry was scheduled to feature Depp, Jude Law and Eddie Redmayne with the same screen time, but at an eight-figure salary, Depp would have been the highest earner of the three. His high pay comes thanks to his box office record in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, claims The Hollywood Reporter.
Depp's future in movies had been in doubt since 2017, following initial accusations of abuse from his ex-wife Amber Heard. According to sources who spoke to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio wanted to allow due process to run its course before making a decision.
The 57-year-old actor reacted via social media on Friday, saying that "Warner Bros. had asked him to resign from my role as Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts and that I have respected and accepted that request."
He said: “I would like to thank everyone who has given me their support and loyalty.
“I have been touched and moved by your many messages of love and concern, especially in the last few days.
“Finally, I wish to say this.
"The surreal court judgment in the UK will not change my fight to tell the truth and I confirm that I plan to appeal."
Despite saying in 2017 that she was "happy" that Depp was continuing in the role, Fantastic Animals writer JK Rowling, who has a close working relationship with Warner Bros., did not back down on the move to separate the actor from the franchise this time.
Rowling had written in a December 2017 statement: “Based on our understanding of the circumstances, the filmmakers and I are not only comfortable with our original cast, but we are really happy that Johnny is playing an important character in the movies. ”.
Depp lost his high-stakes defamation case last Monday against The Daily Sun, which had labeled him a "wife beater" for his volatile relationship with his former spouse.
At the end of an often gruesome libel trial in London High Court, Judge Andrew Nichol found the newspaper's claims to be "substantially true."
He said he believed the actor had abused Heard to such an extent that she frequently feared for his life.
