Jude Law has been cast as the younger version of Albus Dumbledore in the upcoming Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2. It was known that the famous wizard (and future Hogwarts School headmaster) Dumbledore would be name-dropped during the first Fantastic Beasts movie, well before the Harry Potter prequel/spinofff film hit theaters. However, it wasn’t until after Fantastic Beasts hit theaters that moviegoers began to realize, in larger numbers, just how important a role the young(er) Dumbledore will play in the four planned Fantastic Beasts sequels.
The first Fantastic Beasts movie introduced the world to the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald, as played by Johnny Depp (though he spent most of the film disguised as Colin Farrell’s character, the Auror Percival Graves). As Harry Potter book readers are well aware, Grindelwald and Dumbledore have a history that goes well beyond their famous duel in the mid-1940s; elements of which will be explored in the Fantastic Beasts film sequels.
Warner Bros. Pictures has officially confirmed (by way of press release) that Law’s Dumbledore “is still serving as the [Hogwarts] wizarding school’s Transfiguration professor,” when audiences meet him in Fantastic Beasts 2. Eddie Redmayne is reprising his role as magizoologist Newt Scamander from Fantastic Beasts in the film sequel, alongside Depp as Grindelwald, among other returning cast members. Meanwhile, behind the camera, Harry Potter 5-8 and Fantastic Beasts director David Yates is going to be calling the shots, again drawing from a screenplay written by the Wizarding World’s creator, J.K. Rowling.
Here is the official statement from Warner Bros. Pictures president and chief content officer, Toby Emmerich, regarding Law being cast as young Dumbledore:
Law’s previous collaborations with WB include the Guy Ritchie-helmed Sherlock Holmes films (where Law played Dr. Watson), as well as next month’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (also directed by Ritchie). The seasoned character actor recently earned his fair share of acclaim for playing another “young” character, for HBO’s mini-series The Young Pope, and was no doubt on some Wizarding World fans’ wish-list of actors who could play Dumbledore in the Fantastic Beasts sequel (though he missed the cut on Screen Rant’s own Dumbledore actor wishlist).
“As fans ourselves, we are thrilled to have Jude Law joining the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ cast, playing a character so universally adored. Jude has been a member of the Warner Bros. family for years and we’re excited to embark on this new adventure with him.”
Rest assured, Law will be showered in questions about this casting news while he’s promoting King Arthur; meaning, we might yet gain additional insight on what to expect from his version of Dumbledore, before Fantastic Beasts 2 starts production this summer.
Source: Warner Bros. Pictures
