It looks like Warner Bros. has no plans of recasting Gellert Grindelwald anytime soon. Johnny Depp has just confirmed that he will return as the Harry Potter villain in the sequel to Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.
Depp recently spoke to Collider about working on Fantastic Beasts 2. The Pirates of the Caribbean actor admitted that he enjoyed playing Grindelwald then revealed that the third film will be shot in 2019.
"The possibilities in that world are wide open, so you can really try anything. So it was a gas and I look forward to the next installment, which I think we start the middle of next year," Depp said.
Depp also shared how he found out that he was being considered for the villainous role. The Murder on the Orient Express star stated that it was the Harry Potter author herself gave him authority to transform the character for himself.
"Someone said J.K. Rowling would like to talk to me. I spoke to a few producers and the director and to J.K. and had long conversations basically about the Grindelwald character. J.K. said something I did not expect to hear because obviously, her detail to her characters and those wizarding worlds is astonishing. The fact that she said, 'I can't wait to see what you do with the character.' Just to hand it off to me with that degree of trust, I was really touched, blown away by that."
It's understandable why Rowling was eager to cast Depp as Grindelwald. After all, the Edward Scissorhands star seemed like a perfect fit for such a mysterious character. However, several netizens weren't happy with the casting since Depp had just been through a domestic assault case with ex-wife Amber Heard. Let's just hope that Rowling made the right choice with Depp for this one.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald will hit theaters on November 16.
Related: Fantastic Beasts 2 New Poster: It's Grindelwald vs. The Wizarding World