Fantastic Beasts 3 lines up Mads Mikkelsen as Johnny Depp replacement

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Fantastic Beasts 3  showrunners already have their sights on an actor to replace Johnny Depp.

Hannibal’s Mads Mikkelsen is reportedly at the top of the list of stars being considered to take over from Depp in the third instalment of the franchise.

Deadline reports that the Danish actor is in early talks to assume the role of villainous Gellert Grindelwald in a cast led by Eddie Redmayne and Jude Law.

The 54-year-old has starred in a variety of international features, gaining prominence as Dr Hannibal Lecter in NBC’s loose adaptation of Thomas Harris’s books. Mikkelsen also played a villain in Casino Royale, as Le Chiffre opposite Daniel Craig's 007.

The casting news comes only days after Depp announced that he will no longer be appearing in the Fantastic Beasts movies. 

On Friday (6 November), the Pirates of the Caribbean star confirmed on Instagram that he had been asked to resign from the Harry Potter spin-off series by film studio Warner Bros, and will “respect and agree to that request”.

The decision followed after Depp lost his libel trial against The Sun which saw the actor suing News Group Newspapers and the paper’s executive editor Dan Wooton.

The editor had referred to Depp as a “wife beater” in a column, following allegations of domestic violence made against the actor by his ex-wife Amber Heard.

Depp has also announced that he intends to appeal the verdict of the trial.

Yesterday (10 November) it was revealed that the actor will still be paid at least $10m (£7.6m) for Fantastic Beasts 3 even though he had only filmed one scene in the movie, which went into production in London on 20 September.