It’s official: Johnny Depp is stepping down from playing Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them . While the news is shocking, it is far from surprising.
It’s my firm belief that this casting decision was cursed from the get-go. As much as I respect Johnny Depp as an actor, he really should never have been cast in Fantastic Beasts .
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For one thing, Johnny was way too old to begin with.
Dumbledore and Grindelwald are supposed to come-of-age around the same time. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows , we learn that the wizards first meet when they are 17 years old.
In real life, Johnny Depp is more than a decade older than Jude Law, and it shows.
There’s also no denying that Colin Farrell and Johnny Depp weren’t in sync at all.
Colin was cool, sympathetic, frightening — all of the things you look for in a complex villain.
Depp, on the other hand, seemed out of place, bumbling through his scenes as if he was possessed by the spirit of Jack Sparrow.
The film also does a terrible job of building to the big twist.
Had the audience been in on the secret all along, we would have been able to see Johnny behind Colin’s eyes.
Instead, the film builds to this incredible villain reveal but we don’t see Grindelwald — all we see is Johnny Depp.
Which leads me to my next point — why did Colin Farrell have to transform into a totally different person?
Couldn’t the production team have just used prosthetics on Colin’s face?
Or even CGI, like how they did for Raph Fiennes when he played Voldemort?
I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that Colin gives a career performance in the role — how could they not see that?
It almost seems all for nothing. Colin steals the film and the thanks he’s given is to be snuffed out at the last second and replaced by Johnny Depp?
That’s not fair to Colin and it certainly isn’t fair to us.
Colin Farrell is the Grindelwald that both the Muggle and Wizarding world need!
He and Jude Law had real chemistry on-screen. Farrell is charming and charismatic in ways that Johnny Depp did not bring to the character.
But even in the wake of Depp’s departure, it still seems very unlikely that Farrell will be cast as his replacement.
As it stands right now, Mads Mikkelsen is reportedly in talks to replace Johnny.
Mads is perhaps best known for his role as Dr. Hannibal Lecter in the TV series Hannibal .
After playing Lecter, getting into the mindset of Grindelwald would likely be a breeze.
Some people are very upset that Depp has been replaced at all, especially considering he IS a fantastic actor.
For some, he just wasn’t right for the role in question!
Many fans won’t be watching the movies now that he has reportedly been replaced.
However, many other fans are really excited about the news! They know that Mikkelsen is a fantastic actor, and are looking forward to the movies because of this potential casting.
If you take a look on Twitter, fans are quite overjoyed that they may be getting Mikkelsen in the movies.
Then there are people who are actually considering to watch the movies BECAUSE of this change in casting!
If Mikkelsen can bring even more people to the theaters, wouldn’t that be a good thing?
I suppose that’s just another thing that is up for discussion!
What do you think of Johnny Depp’s casting, and his reported replacement?
Were you sad to see him go, or did you want someone different from the get-go?
Either way, let us know down below in the comment section! We would love to hear from you!
