Fantastic Beasts Fans Are Hoping Colin Farrell Will Replace Johnny Depp

Earlier today came officially confirmation from actor Johnny Depp that despite appearing in the first two Fantastic Beasts films, he will be stepping down from the part of Gellert Grindelwald in the film franchise. The news came after production on the film has already restarted in the UK and just days after Depp lost a libel lawsuit against a British tabloid that characterized him as being abusive. He confirmed the news in a post on Instagram, writing "I wish to let you know that I have been asked to resign by Warner Bros. from my role as Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts and I have respected and agreed to that request," and it didn't take long for fans to start wondering about his replacement.

The natural first choice for many Harry Potter fans to replace Depp in the film is none other than actor Colin Farrell. As you may recall, the original Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them featured Farrell as Percival Graves, and Auror and head of Magical Security for MACUSA (the US equivalent of the Ministry of Magic). The big twist of the 2016 movie though was in the end Percival Graves was actually Gellert Grindelwald in disguise. In a world full of magic and countless logical rules to be bent, it would be easy to explain this casting away a second time.

Grindelwald was previously mentioned in the Harry Potter books but the five film "Fantastic Beasts" series was crafted to tell his story and expand on other corners of the Wizarding World. The previous film, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, saw the threat of Grindelwald fully emerge in the pre-WWII era of the Wizarding World. As Grindelwald's forces convene, the most pivotal piece of the evil wizard's plan is Credence (Ezra Miller), the boy with a powerful Obscurus parasite inside of him. Crimes of Grindelwald ended on the reveal from Grindelwald that Credence is actually Aurelius Dumbledore, Albus Dumbledore's long-lost brother.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 3 will now arrive in Summer 2022.