Johnny Depp is set to star as dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald in the next Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them film.
The Harry Potter spin-off will hit Irish cinemas this month and stars Dublin native Colin Farrell as Percival Graves.
Director of the films David Yates confirmed that the actor will take on the role of the dark wizard and former friend of Albus Dumbledore.
Wizard: Johnny will take on the role of Gellert Grindelwald in the next Fantastic Beasts film | DISNEY
David revealed that he chose Johnny not because of his star status but for how he can transform into different and memorable characters.
“The whole principal of casting the movie was go with the best actor. Go for the most inspired, interesting, right fit for that character,” he told The Leaky Cauldron, a news site dedicated to the Harry Potter universe.
“And as we approached Grindelwald we thought, ‘who’s going to take this in an interesting direction?’ In this business, it’s a weird old business. You’re brilliant one week, people are saying odd things the next, you go up and down. But no one takes away your pure talent.
“Johnny Depp is a real artist. He’s created several characters who have really resonated in our popular culture. He’s a really brilliant, brilliant actor. We were excited about seeing what he would do with this guy, the character.
“He’s fearless; he’s imaginative; he’s ambitious. We thought he would do something fun and special. So we went for him, purely on that selfish basis. We don’t care if he’s famous or not famous. We just know he’s interesting.”
