Johnny Depp Has Been Cast In The ‘Fantastic Beasts’ Sequel and Twitter Got Really Mad at Who He’ll Be Playing

By Joe Reid Twitter @joereid
Published Nov. 2, 2016, 9:35 a.m. ET

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According to The Wrap, Johnny Depp has been cast in the sequel to the Harry Potter spinoff Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Although Fantastic Beasts doesn’t open in the U.S. until November 18th, pre-production is already underway on the sequel. As of right now, Eddie Redmayne has been officially confirmed to return as Newt Scamander for Fantastic Beasts 2 — along with Depp, whose role in the sequel has not been confirmed. That said, the rumor mill has already spit out one name: Gellert Grindelwald.
A quick primer on Grindelwald, a name that should be familiar to anyone who read the Harry Potter series: Grindelwald was the baddest of bad wizards before Voldemort came about. But he was not always that way. Gellert Grindelwald and Albus Dumbledore were the closest of friends (this was the wizard that J.K. Rowling would later say that Dumbledore was in love with, when she made him gay after the fact), young and ambitious and ready to take on the world. But Grindelwald’s idea of taking on the world was more like taking over the world, and he and Dumbledore fell out. Dumbledore eventually defeated Grindelwald and took his Elder Wand for himself. There were actually flashbacks to Grindelwald in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part I, where he was played by Jamie Campbell Bower.
The news that Depp would be playing Grindelwald — thus far an unconfirmed rumor — hit Twitter like a … well, like something bad.

There’s also a sliver a rumor that Depp might be playing Dumbledore himself, which would probably not elicit a better reaction from the public. It’s not a great sign for where Johnny Depp is at, public-perception-wise. Or maybe these are all just massive Jamie Campbell Bower fans.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them hits U.S. theaters on November 18.