Mads Mikkelsen has been officially cast to replace Johnny Depp in the Fantastic Beasts movies.
According to a report from The Wrap, the Danish actor has been cast as the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald in the upcoming as-yet-untitled third spin-off movie of the Harry Potter franchise.
The Hannibal and Doctor Strange star will be performing alongside Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, and Ezra Miller, with David Yates in the director's chair.
Take a look at the trailer for The Crimes of Grindelwald below:Depp was asked to resign from the role by Warner Bros, following the spate of bad publicity caused by his contentious divorce from Aquaman actress Amber Heard, and his subsequent libel case against British newspaper The Sun.
Per CNN, Depp sued the tabloid and its executive editor Dan Wootton, over an article published bearing the headline: "GONE POTTY: How can JK Rowling be 'genuinely happy' casting wife-beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film? [sic]"
And BBC News reports that Judge Andrew Nicol determined that The Sun had proven that the content of the article was to be "substantially true", and ruled in the newspaper's favor.
Depp broke the news in a post made on his official Instagram account on November 7, and emphatically denied the allegations of spousal abuse. In a statement made to his 8 million followers, the 57-year-old actor wrote:
"I have been humbled and moved by your many messages of love and concern, particularly over the last few days.
"Secondly, I wish to let you know that I have been asked to resign by Warner Bros from my role as Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts and I have respected that and agreed to that request."
He added: "Finally, I wish to say this. The surreal judgment of the court in the UK will not change my fight to tell the truth and I confirm that I plan to appeal.
"My resolve remains strong and I intend to prove that the allegations against me are false. My life and career will not be defined by this moment in time. Thank you for reading."
Per The Guardian, author JK Rowling had previously defended Depp, writing in a 2017 statement:
"Based on our understanding of the circumstances, the film-makers and I are not only comfortable sticking with our original casting but genuinely happy to have Johnny playing a major character in the movies."
Depp is due to receive his full $10 million salary for his work, despite the fact that he only filmed one scene in the movie, thanks to his his pay-or-play contract, which requires that he be fully compensated whether or not the film is made and even if it is recast.
According to Deadline, the movie's production has been delayed due to the pandemic, with Fantastic Beasts 3 currently set to be released in theaters on July 15, 2022.
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