Johnny Depp Confirms Grindelwald Will Return for Fantastic Beasts 3

During a recent interview with Collider, Fantastic Beasts: and the Crimes of Grindelwald star Johnny Depp discussed what brought him to the role and let slip a fairly hefty bit of news: he will return for the third Fantastic Beasts film.

During the interview, Depp recalled some of his more memorable characters, including Edward Scissorhands and Jack Sparrow before the interview turned its focus on Fantastic Beasts, in which the actor plays the legendary (and infamous) Grindelwald.

“It was amazing. It came out of nowhere,” Depp said. “Someone said J.K. Rowling would like to talk to me. I spoke to a few producers and the director and to J.K. and had long conversations basically about the Grindelwald character. J.K. said something I did not expect to hear because obviously her detail to her characters and those wizarding worlds is astonishing. The fact that she said, ‘I can’t wait to see what you do with the character.’ Just to hand it off to me with that degree of trust, I was really touched, blown away by that. So I jumped into locating the character and I had my ideas. I came in and it all seemed to work out. Grindelwald is an interesting character. His intentions in his mind are for the greater good, but there have been other people in world politics and such who felt the same way. [chuckles] He’s very dedicated to his beliefs. He’s not a fun character; he’s not funny.”

When asked if he enjoyed playing him, Depp said he appreciated the opportunity to play a character who is teetering to be a fascist, but who is also sensitive, concerned and manipulative. Then he dropped the golden nugget:

“The possibilities in that world are wide open, so you can really try anything. So it was a gas and I look forward to the next installment, which I think we start the middle of next year.”

Depp confirmed he’s not only returning for Fantastic Beasts 3, but that the film will start shooting in the middle of next year. Until then, we’re left waiting for the release of the next installment, which hits theaters in a little over a month.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is the second of five all-new adventures in J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World. The film stars Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamandar alongside returning stars Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, and Ezra Miller. They’re joined by Claudia Kim, Zoe Kravitz, Callum Turner, with Jude Law as Dumbledore and Johnny Depp as the titular Grindelwald.

At the end of the first film, the powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Depp) was captured by MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States of America), with the help of Newt Scamander (Redmayne). But, making good on his threat, Grindelwald escaped custody and has set about gathering followers, most unsuspecting of his true agenda: to raise pure-blood wizards up to rule over all non-magical beings.

In an effort to thwart Grindelwald’s plans, Albus Dumbledore (Law) enlists his former student Newt Scamander, who agrees to help, unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. Lines are drawn as love and loyalty are tested, even among the truest friends and family, in an increasingly divided wizarding world.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is being directed by David Yates, from a screenplay by J.K. Rowling, and produced by David Heyman, J.K. Rowling, Steve Kloves and Lionel Wigram. The film will debut in theaters on November 16, 2018