Mads Mikkelsen in talks to replace Johnny Depp in ‘Fantastic Beasts’

Now that Johnny Depp is officially out of the third Fantastic Beasts movie (raking in some serious cash despite his departure), filmmakers are on a hardcore hunt for their new Gellert Grindelwald. The costly movie is already in production, after all.The good news is that it looks like they’re getting close. Various inside-Hollywood sources are reporting that Hannibal Lector himself, aka Mads Mikkelsen, is in early talks to take over the villainous character, who surfaced in a small role in the first Beasts film and took centre stage in the second, The Crimes of Grindelwald.While nothing is official at time of press, if Mikkelsen’s name is being floated around it’s a pretty good sign that the casting is ThisClose to happening. Especially since the still-untitled movie is already in production, and Warner Bros. is looking to keep things on track to hit the July 2022 release date following Depp’s departure.For those who need a quick refresher, Depp announced he was leaving the project via Instagram on November 6. According to his post, Warner Bros. asked him to step down after he lost his libel case against British tabloid The Sun for calling him a “wife beater.” The trial brought up a lot of ugly tales in regards to Depp and his marriage to Amber Heard, and while that particular trial is now finished Depp has already filed another suit in the U.S. against his ex. In other words, it doesn’t look like the bad press (and alleged bad behaviour) is dying down anytime soon.According to The Hollywood Reporter, Depp had already donned Grindelwald’s blonde wig to film one scene for the new Beasts, but that will now be scrapped. And for those keeping track, this won’t be the first time an actor has been replaced in a Harry Potter film either. Richard Harris was the original Dumbledore in the first two films before he passed away and was replaced by Michael Gambon. The villainous Voldemort was originally played by Richard Bremmer before Ralph Fiennes took over the gig in the fourth film. And who could forget that Griphook was originally played by Verne Troyer (but voiced by Warwick Davis) before Davis took over the role altogether in Deathly Hallows.When Beasts hits theatres in 2022, Jude Law returns as Dumbledore and Eddie Redmayne reprises his role as the protagonist Newt Scamander. Mikkelsen, meanwhile, has plenty of experience playing notable Big Bads, given that he starred in NBC’s twisty take on Hannibal for three seasons as the notorious cannibalistic character. He’s also no stranger to big franchises, having starred in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the Casino Royal installment of James Bond, and the 2016 MCU offering Doctor Strange.From a fictional point of view, Gellert Grindelwald has been presented as one of the most dangerous dark wizards in J.K. Rowling’s magical universe, second only to Voldemort. As was revealed in the Harry Potter novels, he and Dumbledore were once friends, but things took a deadly turn involving the Deathly Hallows and Dumbledore’s sister. Eventually Dumbledore and Grindelwald partook in a legendary duel, but how that plays out onscreen may be more of a slow burn than what was revealed in the Harry Potter books since there are blood pacts and romantic tensions to factor into it all. The third film is expected to dig more into those twists and themes when it hits theatres, but it won’t answer everything: there are still two more planned movies in the franchise to go after this.So if and when Mikkelsen does commit to the meaty part, he should be around for a while.[video_embed id='2068284']Before you go: Johnny Depp loses court case against newspaper[/video_embed]