Warner Bros.

has confirmed that Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen will replace Johnny Depp in the third film in the Fantastic Beasts franchise.

The actor will play the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald, reminds Deadline.

Information that Mads Mikkelsen was the main candidate for this role appeared in the first half of November, shortly after Johnny Depp lost a court case against the publisher of The Sun in a libel case and left the popular franchise at the request of Warner Bros. 

However, at that time, the studio refrained from making official statements, and Mikkelsen himself, in an interview with IGN, called all these conversations rumors.

“Oh, it's just rumors now.

I know exactly as much as you know from the newspapers.

So I'm waiting for a call, ”the actor said last week.

Mads Mikkelsen has played antagonists more than once.

He played the evil wizard Kaecilius in Scott Derrickson's Doctor Strange, international terrorist financier Le Chiffre in the 21st Bond film Casino Royale, and Count Rochefort in The Musketeers.

However, Mikkelson's most striking work was the role of the psychiatrist and serial killer Hannibal Lecter in the popular project "Hannibal", which was released from 2013 to 2015.

For her, he was awarded the Saturn Prize for Best TV Actor.  

  • © Still from the film "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them"

The Fantastic Beasts franchise is a spin-off of a series of films and books about Harry Potter.

Both stories are written by J.K. Rowling.

In total, the series is scheduled to release five films.

Their plot will cover the period from 1926 to 1945.

It is expected that at the end a final battle will unfold between the strongest wizards - Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald.

The first part of the franchise - "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" - was released in the fall of 2016.

In the story, British magzoologist Newt Scamander travels to New York, where he continues his life's work - the search and study of magical creatures.

The film has successfully performed at the box office, grossing $ 814 million on a budget of $ 180 million, and received high marks from both critics and viewers.

Its ratings on Rotten Tomatoes are 74% and 79%, respectively.

In addition, the tape was awarded an Oscar and other prestigious awards for the best costumes.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald premiered in 2018 and took place in the United States, England and France.

The results of the second part were no longer so outstanding: its gross was almost $ 655 million. The audience's reaction to the film was also much cooler.

Film critics noted that the tape still contains magic, familiar to everyone from the Harry Potter films, but it is not felt as much as in the previous part.

Based on reviews from reviewers, the rating of the picture was only 36%.

The audience turned out to be a little more loyal and awarded her 54% "freshness".

Filming for the third Fantastic Beasts is already underway at Warner Bros Studios in the suburbs of London, but is expected to premiere in July 2022.

After Johnny Depp left the project, the producers decided to postpone the release.

Eddie Redmaine as Newt Scamander, Jude Law (Albus Dumbledore), Catherine Waterston (Tina Goldstein), Alison Sudol (Queenie Goldstein), Dan Fogler (Jacob Kowalski), Ezra Miller (Credence Barebone) and other artists will return to their roles in the film ...

The film was directed by David Yates.

He also directed the previous two parts, as well as the last four Harry Potter films.

The plot of the tape is kept secret.

As Screenrant notes, the main character of the tape will remain the magzoologist Newt Scamander, and the events will unfold in the 1930s.

Rio de Janeiro will also become the scene of action.

According to actor Dan Fogler, the story of his character Jacob Kowalski in the third film will have an interesting development, and the tape itself will most likely resemble the first part.

In addition, the artist said that the film will include several large-scale battle scenes.