The mysterious Fantastic Beasts sequel is coming our way eventually, with Eddie Redmayne set to reprise his role as Newt Scamander alongside much of the cast we fell in love with in the two previous Harry Potter spinoff films. And on the dark side so to say is Gellert Grindelwald, who Mads Mikkelsen is taking on after Johnny Depp’s dramatic exit from the franchise. And apparently he’ll go head-to-head with our favorite creature-loving Hufflepuff.
Yes, we’ve now heard that Newt and Grindelwald will be engaged in epic battle sequences against one another. When USA Today recently spoke to Mads Mikkelsen about his work on Fantastic Beasts 3, it was reported that the Doctor Strange actor was engaged in work for “three weeks straight” due to an on-screen battle with Eddie Redmayne for the movie’s conclusion.
This is the Wizarding World after all, so that probably means a lot of long hours of wand-waving choreography and reciting magical spells for the two talented actors. Nonetheless, this is super exciting because we still have virtually no idea what to expect from the third Fantastic Beasts movie almost a year before its release – except for the fact that it’s been delayed multiple times (even pre-pandemic) and made a huge recasting move regarding its main villain.
It’s also optimistic news because Eddie Redmayne’s Newt Scamander seemed to be somewhat sidelined after the first movie due to a slew of other characters being introduced into the franchise, including Jude Law’s younger iteration of Dumbledore. 2018’s Crimes of Grindelwald introduced some more complications, including complicated family ties for Ezra Miller’s Credence and fan-favorite Queenie picking the side of Grindelwald.
There are a lot of loose ends for the third movie to tie up, and the film definitely needs to step some things up following some mixed to negative reviews for the 2018 sequel. However, a major battle sequence between Newt and Grindelwald is a good start.
Mads Mikkelsen replaced Johnny Depp in the role after the actor’s legal situation with ex-wife Amber Heard led to Warner Bros asking him to step down from the franchise. Mikkelsen has already spoken about taking on the role, sharing that he’ll need to create some bridges between Depp and his performances, but he most certainly isn’t planning to copy what the Pirates of the Caribbean actor did with the role. After Fantastic Beasts, Mikkelsen is joining Indiana Jones 5 to play another high-profile role.
Fantastic Beasts 3 is set to be released on July 15, 2022 and is expected to be one of five Harry Potter spinoff films in the prequel franchise. Stick with us here on CinemaBlend for more updates about what else is going on in the Wizarding World.
