After Johnny Depp was asked by Warner Bros. to step down from his role as Gellert Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts 3, many fans were left wondering who -- if anyone -- could replace him in the Harry Potter spinoff. However, it turns out the most obvious choice, Colin Farrell, is seemingly off the table.
Farrell played Director of Magical Security Percival Graves in 2016's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. At the end of the film, Graves is revealed to actually be Grindelwald in disguise. According to Variety, though, Farrell would likely be unable to reprise his role due to filming on The Batman, which sees him play the villainous Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin.
On Nov. 2, Depp lost a libel case against The Sun over a headline that referred to him as a "wife beater" following his messy divorce with Aquaman star Amber Heard. Days later, Warner Bros. asked him to resign from Fantastic Beasts 3. However, while Depp obliged, the nature of his contract means Warner Bros. still needs to pay the actor's $10 million salary, as he'd already filmed a scene.
Depp's exit resulted in Warner Bros. delaying Fantastic Beasts 3 to 2022 to allow time for the studio to cast a new actor to play Grindelwald. Notably, though, one person formerly in Depp's corner -- Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling -- is OK with the recasting, despite previously going to bat for him. "For me personally, the inability to speak openly to fans about this issue has been difficult, frustrating and at times painful," Rowling wrote in 2017. "Based on our understanding of the circumstances, the filmmakers and I are not only comfortable sticking with our original casting, but genuinely happy to have Johnny playing a major character in the movies."
Directed by Matt Reeves and written by Reeves and Mattson Tomlin, The Batman stars Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon, Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Colin Farrel as Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin, Paul Dano as Edward Nashton/The Riddler, John Turturro as Carmine Falcone and Peter Sarsgaard as District Attorney Gil Colson. The film arrives in theaters March 4, 2022.
Directed by David Yates and written by J.K. Rowling and Steve Kloves, Fantastic Beasts 3 stars Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Ezra Miller and Jude Law. The film arrives in theaters July 15, 2022.
Source: Variety