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'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' hasn't hit UK cinemas yet but we are already thinking about (i.e. obsessing over) the film's sequels. And thankfully, director David Yates and producer David Heyman have been spilling the Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Jelly Beans about the future of the fantastical franchise.
In a recent interview with The Leaky Cauldron the two Davids shared three incredibly exciting snippets of news:
1. Johnny Depp is definitely playing dark wizard Grindlewald
It's what we predicted when his casting was announced – and now it's confirmed.
'Grindlewald is an iconic character, so it was important to have someone who had that weight. There's a reason why he has that weight. It's because, you know, he's a fine actor who makes unexpected choices,' says Heyman, while Yates added: 'Johnny Depp is a real artist. He’s created several characters who have really resonated in our popular culture. He’s a really brilliant, brilliant actor. We were excited about seeing what he would do with this guy, the character. He’s fearless; he’s imaginative; he’s ambitious. We thought he would do something fun and special. So we went for him, purely on that selfish basis. We don’t care if he’s famous or not famous. We just know he’s interesting.'
2. The franchise is coming back to the UK
'We do go back to the UK in the second film,' Yates revealed. 'It's UK and Paris.' Of the rest of the movies (we're talking 2 of 5, after all) Yates says: 'I'm not sure where Jo [Rowling] is setting the rest of the movies, but they'll be European-centric. I think it will be difficult to ignore America but the next one is predominantly Europe.'
3. They might have already found their Dumbledore
The news that everyone's favourite Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore is set to star in the second Fantastic Beasts movie made us incredibly excited earlier this week. Michael Gambon won't be reprising his role, because Dumbledore will be much younger, but another actor could already have the gig in the bag. 'Jared Harris is a fine actor,' said Yates.
It would be a rather fitting casting choice. Jared Harris, who you might recognised from Netflix's 'The Crown', already has a connection to the wizard: his father Richard Harris played Dumbledore in the first and second Harry Potter movies.
'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' is in UK cinemas November 18.
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