Fantastic Beasts: Mads Mikkelsen Hopes for More Chances to Play Grindelwald

Actor Mads Mikkelsen was a late addition to Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, as he was brought in to replace Johnny Depp as Gellert Grindelwald after production has already kicked off, but the actor hopes this isn’t his only outing as the character, as he recently revealed his appreciation for the complexities of the character. The series up to this point has featured Grindelwald as the main antagonist, so it would seem likely that the figure would stay in the series, though with the recasting of the role, it wouldn’t be entirely unexpected if another performer was brought in for the character in a future film. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is in theaters now.

Rather than attempting to replicate what Depp did with the character previously, Mikkelsen wanted to bring his own approach to the character, noting to The Hollywood Reporter that “I’d like him not just to be instantly demagogic.”

“My reason [Grindelwald wanting a war with muggles] is that something happened to his entire family when he was a child that explains the hate he carries around,” the actor added. “It’s a fantastic, detailed, complex universe [Rowling’s] created, and I’d love to hear her thoughts on it. I hope I will do more than this one [film].”

If Grindelwald were to appear in another film, there’s no reason to assume Mikkelsen wouldn’t be reprising in the role, other than him being the third actor to embody the role, in a manner of speaking. In the first film, Colin Farrell played Percival Graves, who revealed himself to secretly be Grindelwald in disguise, while Depp then played the villain in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Depp ended up parting ways from The Secrets of Dumbledore reportedly at the request of the studio. 

Despite the tremendous success of the Wizarding World franchise, the future of the Fantastic Beasts series is reportedly undecided. The creatives involved in the series have claimed the plan was for a five-film narrative, but with dwindling critical and box office reactions for each entry, studio Warner Bros. might be reevaluating its future. The popularity of the franchise means we likely shouldn’t expect the conclusion of the prequel films to be scrapped entirely, but they could surely be reimagined as an HBO Max project as opposed to two theatrically released films.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is in theaters now.

Are you hoping we get to see more of Mikkelsen as Grindelwald? Let us know in the comments below!