While "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" is yet to debut next week, director David Yates and "Harry Potter" producer David Heyman have already dropped certain details about its sequel. Among the big reveals include the comeback of Dumbledore and the fact that the fantasy movie will return to the U.K. to relive the "Harry Potter" days.
As the "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" sequel will pick up from years before the "Harry Potter" era, the filmmaker confirmed that the character of Dumbledore will be played by a younger actor and that they are eyeing Jared Harris.
"No it's not going to be Michael Gambon. No, we need a younger Dumbledore," Yates said in a round table interview, as cited by The Leaky Cauldron. "But, Jared Harris is a fine actor," he added. He and Heyman then proceeded to jokingly ask reporters for some recommendation.
However, the biggest surprise came when Yates mentioned Depp to play as the former friend of Dumbledore, Grindelwald. "The whole principal of casting the movie was go with the best actor. Go for the most inspired, interesting, right fit for that character. And as we approached Grindelwald we thought, 'who's going to take this in an interesting direction?'" Yates explained.
The fans of "Harry Potter" became especially concerned that Depp might not give justice to any character of the franchise since he was recently linked to a domestic abuse controversy. The director though stood firm with their decision and explained why they took Depp to play the role in the first place.
"Johnny Depp is a real artist. He's created several characters who have really resonated in our popular culture. He's a really brilliant, brilliant actor. We were excited about seeing what he would do with this guy, the character," Yates shared. "He's fearless; he's imaginative; he's ambitious. We thought he would do something fun and special. So we went for him, purely on that selfish basis. We don't care if he's famous or not famous. We just know he's interesting."
Depp is the latest confirmed cast addition for the "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" sequel. He will join the lead stars Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterson, and Colin Farrell. Depp is best known for his eerie role as Captain Jack Sparrow in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise, which is set to debut its fifth installment in 2017.
