We already knew the dark wizard Grindelwald would be a menacing presence in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, but now it’s confirmed that Grindelwald’s story will feature heavily in the five-part film series, and he’ll (probably) be played by Johnny Depp.
Late on November 1, multiple reports confirmed that Johnny Depp was cast in a major role for the sequel to Fantastic Beasts while Hypable has specifically said that Depp will play Grindelwald and that we’ve already seen the back of his head in trailers, and that this shot will occur sometime near the start of the new film.
In the past, J.K. Rowling has suggested that Gellert Grindelwald is sort of like the Adolf Hitler of the wizarding world, and that it’s no coincidence that Dumbledore’s defeat of Grindelwald coincides with the fall of Nazi Germany in the Muggle world. This makes Grindelwald an even bigger bad in the Harry Potter universe than Lord Voldermort.
Because Grindelwald is obviously connected to the pursuit of the Deathly Hallows, and the character Percival Graves has been seen with the Hallows pendant, this revelation makes it even more likely than before that at least one of the Hallows could appear in the first Fantastic Beasts film. Will we see Johnny Depp as Grindelwald wielding the Elder Wand or donning the Cloak of Invisibility? And will we only see the back of his head in the first film, or more?
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them opens in theaters on November 18.
