The third film in the Fantastic Beasts franchise is currently in production and will see actor Mads Mikkelsen replace Johnny Depp as main antagonist Gellert Grindelwald. In a new interview, Mikkelsen discussed how he approaches stepping into a character that’s already been played by someone else.
RELATED: DC Searching for Black Actor & Director for Upcoming Superman Film
Speaking to Collider, Mikkelsen was asked about the challenge of replacing Depp, who stepped down from the franchise last year. “Nobody’s interested in me going in there and trying to copy anything, that would be creative suicide immediately, especially when it’s been done before and masterfully,” Mikkelsen said. “So everybody’s expecting us to find a different path. Having said that, we need a bridge between what he did and what I’m gonna do, so those bridges you have to find together, whether it’s a certain look, whether it’s a certain attitude in certain situations, but you have to make it your own. Anything else would be plainly just creatively stupid.”
Mikkelsen is no stranger to large franchises, having already played characters in Marvel’s Doctor Strange, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and many more. However, it seems clear that Mikkelsen is not taking his role in the upcoming sequel lightly, and is ready to give it his all.
Fantastic Beasts 3 will again feature the return of Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander, Katherine Waterston as Tina Goldstein, Dan Fogler as Jacob Kowalski, Alison Sudol as Queenie Goldstein, Ezra Miller as Credence, Jude Law as Albus Dumbledore, and Jessica Williams as Professor Eulalie Hicks.
RELATED: Those Who Wish Me Dead Featurette Previews a High-Stakes Story
The third installment will again be directed by David Yates from a screenplay written by J.K. Rowling and Steve Kloves. The third movie in the franchise is currently filming in the UK.
The previous film in the Harry Potter prequel franchise, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, earned $653 million at the worldwide box office. The first two Fantastic Beasts movies were directed by David Yates, from a screenplay by J.K. Rowling, and produced by David Heyman, J.K. Rowling, Steve Kloves, and Lionel Wigram.