'Fantastic Beasts' sequel has found its young Dumbledore — and it's a veteran actor

By Rick Marshall Published April 14, 2017

One of the Harry Potter franchise’s most popular characters is returning to the big screen.

Warner Bros. Pictures has announced that two-time Academy Award nominee Jude Law will play Albus Dumbledore in the upcoming sequel to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The film will explore the character’s early years as a professor at Hogwarts School For Witchcraft and Wizardry, before he became the school’s headmaster.

Recommended Videos

The announcement was made by Toby Emmerich, president and chief content officer at Warner Bros. Pictures, who said the studio was “thrilled” to have Law — who has a long history with the studio — take on the role.

“Jude has been a member of the Warner Bros. family for years, and we’re excited to embark on this new adventure with him,” said Emmerich.

Previously, Dumbledore was played by veteran British actor Richard Harris in the first two films of the Harry Potter franchise and then, after Harris’ death, by fellow stage and screen veteran Michael Gambon. Reign actor Toby Regbo also portrayed the young Dumbledore in a brief scene in 2010’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1.

Set to be directed Fantastic Beasts filmmaker David Yates — who also directed multiple installments of the original Harry Potter franchise — the upcoming sequel will be set during Dumbledore’s time as the “Transfiguration” professor at Hogwarts. Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling once again provides the script for the film after making her screenwriting debut with Fantastic Beasts, and the film is expected to chronicle Dumbledore’s relationship with Gellert Grindelwald, the dark wizard portrayed by Johnny Depp in Fantastic Beasts.

Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne will reprise his role as Newt Scamander for the still-untitled sequel, which continues a story set decades before the events of the Harry Potter films.

Currently starring in the HBO series The Young Pope, Law earned Oscar nominations for his performances in 1999’s The Talented Mr. Ripley and 2003’s Cold Mountain. He’ll appear later this year in Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.

The sequel to Fantastic Beasts is expected to begin filming this summer, and is currently scheduled to hit theaters November 16, 2018.

Former Contributing Editor, Entertainment

A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…

Topics

Entertainment

New Fantastic Beasts movie posters reveal the cast

Eddie Redmayne as Newt in Fantastic Beasts.

There's a battle coming to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter several decades before his birth. While the rest of humanity heads inexorably toward World War II, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is about to unleash a magic civil war. And in this conflict, there are only two real options: Siding with the malevolent Gellert Grindelwald or with his former lover, Albus Dumbledore.

Warner Bros. Pictures has released 18 new character posters from The Secrets of Dumbledore. These are the major players in the war to come. But since Dumbledore (Jude Law) is restrained by a magical pact with Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen), he has to defer to his best student, Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne). But as good as Newt is, he isn't Grindelwald's equal. That's why Newt has been assembling a team to stand against the evil wizard. Unfortunately, he has plenty of followers of his own, and they aren't shy about using dark magic against their enemies.

Entertainment

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore trailer sends the wizards to war

The cast of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.

There's a war coming to the wizarding world, and Albus Dumbledore has been forced to the sidelines while the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald assembles his forces. However, the first trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore demonstrates that Albus is far from helpless. Thanks to his efforts, an unlikely team of wizards (and one muggle) may be enough to turn the tide against Grindelwald. Their bravery is inspiring, especially in the face of Grindelwald's evil. But he has already arranged a nasty surprise for Dumbledore: A long-lost brother who wants him dead.

Since Johnny Depp was forced to step down from the franchise, this trailer marks the official debut of Hannibal's Mads Mikkelsen as the new Grindelwald. It's unclear if the character's new face is part of the plot or if the audience is supposed to simply accept the recasting without explanation. Regardless, Mikkelsen's Grindelwald is appropriately sinister and powerful in the new footage. He has also convinced Credence Barebone that Albus wants him dead because Credence is actually Aurelius Dumbledore. This information is coming solely from Grindelwald, so we can't actually take what he says at face value. Yet Credence believes it, and it fuels his confrontation with Albus in the trailer.

Entertainment

Fantastic Beasts 3 now has an official title and 2022 release date

Jude Law and Eddie Redmayne in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.

Nearly three years ago, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, the most recent installment in the Harry Potter prequel film series, left moviegoers with a big cliffhanger. Now, we know when the next sequel will arrive. Warner Bros. has announced that Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore will hit theaters on Friday, April 15, 2022.

Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling is once again collaborating with screenwriter Steve Kloves on the script. David Yates, the director of four Harry Potter films and both of the earlier Fantastic Beasts movies, is also returning to helm The Secrets of Dumbledore.