Fantastic Beasts 3: See Johnny Depp Replaced In The Trailer
Fantastic Beasts 3, The Secrets of Dumbledore, has started production and we have some magical information to share.
This article is more than 2 years old
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them made its introduction back in 2001 as a guidebook about many of the magical creatures in the Harry Potter universe. The book was written by J. K. Rowling under the pen name of Newt Scamander, the Magizoologist (the study of magical creatures) who features prominently in everything Fantastic Beast related.
It took 15 years and the end of the Harry Potter film series to bring it to the big screen and has since seen a sequel, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, with plans for five Fantastic Beast movies in total. Fantastic Beasts 3 started production and we have some magical information to share.
Fantastic Beasts 3 Release Date
Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them 3 was scheduled to be released on November 12, 2021. Then that date was delayed. It was then set to be released on July 15, 2022. Surprising everyone, they moved that date up a little bit.
Fantastic Beasts 3 is now to be released on April 15, 2022.
Warner Bros announced the new release date and full title via Twitter.
The Trailer
The first full trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore was released on Monday, December 13, 2021. We see plenty of returning cast members such as Jude Law as the young Albus Dumbledore, Ezra Miller as Credence Barebone, and of course Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander. We also get the most we’ve seen so far of Mads Mikkelsen in the recast role of Grindelwald, though we still don’t get a lot of the new/old villain.
Returning Cast
Let’s start off by saying who isn’t coming back for Fantastic Beasts 3. At least we think this character won’t be back, but in the Harry Potter world, anything is possible. We are talking about Zoë Kravitz’s (Catwoman in upcoming The Batman movie) Leta Lestrange character. She met her untimely demise at the hands of Gellert Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, thus ending her tragic tale as a close friend to Newt and fiancé to Newt’s older brother, Theseus.
Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything, The Aeronauts) stars in Fantastic Beasts 3 as Newt Scamander, Magizoologist and English wizard.
Dan Fogler (Balls of Fury, The Walking Dead) is back as Jacob Kowalski.
Alison Sudol (Between Us, Other People’s Children) returns in Fantastic Beasts 3 as Queenie Goldstein.
Katherine Waterston (Alien: Covenant, The Current War) will be in it as Tina Goldstein.
Callum Turner (War & Peace, Assassin’s Creed) returns as Newt’s brother Theseus Scamander.
Ezra Miller (Justice League) will be back in Fantastic Beasts 3 as the mysterious Credence Barebone (or is he a Dumbledore?).
Jude Law (Sherlock Holmes movies) is back in Fantastic Beasts 3 as the young Albus Dumbledore.
Daniel Radcliffe To Return As Harry Potter?
We have gotten one indication that Radcliffe might be softening on his stance to avoid any further involvement with Harry Potter. The entertainment news website We Got This Covered claims that Dan Radcliffe has spoken to Warner Bros. about returning as Harry, but with one stipulation: He’ll only do it if JK Rowling isn’t involved.
JK Rowling has recently begun expressing views which some activists view as being anti-trans, and Radcliff published a statement condemning her opinions (more on that further down in this article). At this point, it’s not a surprise that the leader of the Harry Potter cast (many of whom have issued other condemning statements) want any further involvement with JK Rowling. Attaching yourself to something JK Rowling is involved in, is now a sure way to subject yourself to outrage and protests.
Radcliffe recently joined the rest of the Harry Potter cast for a project in which the stars of the movies read the Harry Potter books. See Daniel Radcliffe reading chapter one of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone below…
Are we ready for a return of Harry Potter? If Warner Bros. has their way, we just may see Daniel Radcliffe return to the role that made him famous. Fantastic Beasts 3 is underway but word is the plan is to have Harry Potter show up in the fifth and final films of the Fantastic Beasts series. For this to happen, though, the movie will need to flash-forward bring in Harry as an adult, interacting with a much older Newt towards the end of the film.
While this plan sounds like one all Harry Potter fans could get behind, the question (1) becomes does Radcliffe wish to reprise his role, which at times he’s said he is done with and (2) what if the third movie, now delayed until at least November 2021 possibly longer with the on-going pandemic, doesn’t hit the financials the studio is hoping for? The plan then would be to end the series with a fourth movie instead of five and bringing Radcliffe into that one. It remains to be seen if Radcliffe will be willing and if the studio, regardless of their wants, will be willing to pony up the sizeable fee it would take to get Radcliffe to whip out his wizard wand one more time.
Bring In Other Harry Potter Characters To Fantastic Beasts 3
While the first two movies largely avoided relying on characters from the other Harry Potter movies, word is that’s set to change with Fantastic Beasts 3. Reportedly they’re bringing in Hagrid to be a prominent part of the third movie. How he’ll fit in is currently unknown but don’t be surprised if he pops his shaggy head in. No word yet on if he’ll be played by Robbie Coltrane.
Additionally, there are rumors that we’ll see Tom Riddle in Fantastic Beasts 3. Riddle is, of course, eventually going to become Voldemort. However, these are prequels so we’d see him in his pre-Voldemort phase.
THE MINDS BEHIND FANTASTIC BEASTS 3
David Yates may be on his way to becoming the J. K. Rowling whisperer. Yates jumped into the Harry Potter arena in 2007 when he was chosen to take on the fifth film of the series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It was well-received, which landed him in the directors’ chair for not only the sixth film (Half-Blood Prince) but also the final two of the series, Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and Part 2.
The massive success of those final four films was enough to bring him along into the Fantastic Beast series. Yates has directed the first two films of the series and he is on board for Fantastic Beasts 3, four and five. Warner Bros. has a ton of confidence that Yates can bring this series to a financially positive conclusion.
The author of both the Harry Potter novels and their companion piece, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is J.K. Rowling and she’ll write the Fantastic Beasts 3 script herself. She also wrote the first two.
This time, Harry Potter vet Steve Kloves, who wrote seven of the eight Harry Potter movies (the only one he didn’t pen was Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) will be on board as an assist to Rowling. His assistance moving forward with the final two movie scrxipts will probably be based on how well received Fantastic Beasts 3 is.
WHERE WILL FANTASTIC BEASTS 3 TAKE US?
With the first Fantastic Beasts production sticking mainly in England, the second film spread its wings by also filming in Paris, France, and Switzerland. So fans were curious if they’d be introduced to another locale when Fantastic Beasts 3 premiered. Leave it up to author Rowling herself to let the possible location slip.
Apparently, the author posted a header on her Twitter account that fans asked her to explain. Her response was “It’s Rio Da Janeiro in the 1930s”.
Guess her spell check was on the fritz when she posted because Rowling came back a while later to correct her mistake. Rowling then added fuel to the Rio fire by following it up with another tweet, further hinting that some part of Fantastic Beasts 3 will indeed take place in Rio de Janeiro.
Two plus two equals Rio?
THE PLOT OF FANTASTIC BEASTS 3
There is a vague plot outline for Fantastic Beasts 3. Rowling has stated in the past that the five films will cover 19 years of the Wizarding World. With the first movie kicking off in 1926, 19 years would take fans to 1945, which is the year that Dumbledore defeats Grindelwald to claim the Elder Wand for himself. 1945 is also the same year that Tom Riddle (better known as Lord Voldemort) graduated from Hogwarts. How they get to this point is unknown.
When we last saw the main characters in Crimes of Grindelwald both Queenie and Credence has taken sides with Grindelwald. Newt, on the other hand, teamed up with his brother Theseus in their fight against the dark wizard. With the first Fantastic Beasts starting in ’26 and the second in ’27 and the end of the series supposedly taking place in 1945, a time jump of some sort may be in order.
WILL FANTASTIC BEASTS GET TO FIVE?
Yes. We will. So says Warner Brothers. The first two movies were not close to the success of the Harry Potter movies (tough to follow that series) but WB is putting all their chips on the Rowling table. They do seem fully committed, for now. It’s always possible a bad showing from Fantastic Beasts 3 could change the minds of those making decisions, but currently, Rowling is determined to see her story play out in five films.
HARRY POTTER CAST RETURNS?
So what about that Harry Potter connection? Wouldn’t it be nice to have those beloved characters somehow make an appearance in Fantastic Beasts 3 – 5?? Well, look (and listen) no further as some from the original Harry Potter series will reprise their roles. Just not how you’d expect.
The Tales of Beedle the Bard, first introduced in Rowling’s last Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, is making its way to Audible. Beedle the Bard is a series of five short stories that were intended as bedtime stories for youngsters. The five stories included The Wizard and the Hopping Pot, The Fountain of Fair Fortune, The Warlock’s Hairy Heart, Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump and the very popular The Tale of the Three Brothers.
Actor Warwick Davis of Willow fame and the Harry Potter series (as both Filius Flitwick / Griphook) will lend his chops to The Wizard and the Hopping Pot while Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter movies) will narrate The Fountain of Fair Fortune. Jason Isaacs will lend his voice to The Warlock’s Hairy Heart and Bonnie Wright, (Ron Weasley’s sister Ginny) will read Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump.
And finally, Noma Dumezweni will be reading The Tale of the Three Brothers. If her name isn’t familiar this is because she was not in the Harry Potter films, she was the original Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway and the West End.
Also announced for this Audible endeavor is Sally Mortemore (librarian Irma Pince), she will read the introductions and Jude Law. Yes, the Fantastic Beasts 3 star is also part of this as Law will reprise his role as Dumbledore to read the notes that he had written on the pages of The Tales of Beedle the Bard.
JK Rowling Controversy
Harry Potter author and Fantastic Beasts producer/screenwriter JK Rowling has become heavily embroiled in controversy when she made statements which some view to be transphobic. To date, Rowling has refused to apologize for or take back those comments, resulting in condemnations from the Fantastic Beasts 3 cast and boycotts from fans. This could put the continued production of Fantastic Beasts 3 in jeopardy.
Ezra Miller Controversy
Fantastic Beasts star Ezra Miller recently became the center of controversy when a video of him choking a fan appeared online.
Now because of the video, Warner Bros. studio is investigating the situation and may end up firing Ezra Miller entirely. That’s a huge problem for Fantastic Beasts 3 if it happens, since Miller’s character is a pivotal part of the story. Fantastic Beasts 3 is already filming, that could even force them into expensive and time consuming reshoots if they want to excise Miller from the film entirely. He’s such a critical part of the narrative at this point, getting Ezra Miller out of Fantastic Beasts 3 could be a total disaster.
Johnny Depp Controversy
Of course, let’s not forget, Johnny Depp was originally supposed to return as the big bad guy Gellert Grindelwald. But the actor’s huge legal battle against his ex-wife Amber Heard has gotten in the way and Johnny Depp has now been fired.
The studio has now replaced the actor with Mads Mikkelsen, who came onto the set three months into shooting.
Mads Mikkelsen is well known for playing Dr Hannibal Lecter on the Hannibal series. He’s also been in Rogue One for Star Wars and played Kaecilius in Doctor Strange for Marvel. Recently, the actor signed on for Indiana Jones 5. So far, Mads Mikkelsen has expressed respect for Johnny Depp’s work in Fantastic Beasts and said that he will be working to make the character his own for Fastic Beasts 3.
Depp’s feud with his ex began when she publicly accused him of domestic abuse. In response, Hollywood got nervous about casting Johnny Depp in anything going forward. At the time, JK Rowling stood by Depp and Fantastic Beasts seemed committed to sticking with having him in the cast.
Commenting on the situation back in 2018 Depp had this to say to EW: “I’ll be honest with you, I felt bad for J.K. having to field all these various feelings from people out there. I felt bad that she had to take that. But ultimately, there is real controversy. The fact remains I was falsely accused, which is why I’m suing the Sun newspaper for defamation for repeating false accusations. J.K. has seen the evidence and therefore knows I was falsely accused, and that’s why she has publicly supported me. She doesn’t take things lightly. She would not stand up if she didn’t know the truth. So that’s really it.“
WHERE’S HARRY POTTER?
Could all this be leading up to something special? Could we eventually see, somehow, Harry Potter in the fifth and final film of the series? It would take a significant jump for this to happen, but it is J. K. Rowling and her stories revolve around wizards.
To make it happen, they’d have to agree to get Daniel Radcliffe to return and that seems pretty unlikely. Apparently his experience with making Harry Potter movies, especially during the last couple of movies, wasn’t exactly a positive one.
In an interview with UK Independent Radcliffe reveals that Harry Potter drove him to drink. In fact it seems he was drunk during the filming of some of the final movies, too. He says, “[My] way of dealing with that [was] just to drink more or get more drunk, so I did a lot of that for a few years. … A lot of drinking that happened towards the end of Potter and for a little bit after it finished, it was panic, a little bit not knowing what to do next – not being comfortable enough in who I was to remain sober.“
Variety asked Daniel Radcliffe directly if he could see himself reprising his most famous role and he answered, “I don’t think so. I don’t like say no to things, but it’s not something that I’m rushing to do. I feel like those films have moved on and they’re doing just fine without us. I’m happy to keep it that way. I like what my life is now. I’m not saying that I’ll never go back into any franchise, but I like the flexibility that I have with my career now. And I don’t want to get into a situation where I’m signed up for one series for years in advance.”
While it’s not the answer Harry Potter fans were hoping for, it’s a reasonable outlook for the star. Of course, this doesn’t mean a return is completely off the table, though it won’t happen in Fantastic Beasts 3. Sometimes fans have a way of getting what they wished for. As do movie studios with an endless source of green motivation.
