Variety reports Jude Law has been picked to play a young Dumbledore in the upcoming sequel to Fantastic Beasts, which will also see the return of Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander.
The idea is for the film to explore the fallout from Newt’s adventures in the first Fantastic Beasts, while introducing audiences to a younger, more guileful Dumbledore before he became Hogwarts’ headmaster. In the sequel, we’ll find Dumbledore serving as the wizarding school’s Transfiguration professor, Variety reports.
Law will be the third actor to portray Dumbledore on the big screen, who was previously played by Richard Harris and Michael Gambon. But, unlike the wise, unflustered character we saw in the previous seven Harry Potter films, Law’s portrayal will reportedly be a bit more wily.
“As fans ourselves, we are thrilled to have Jude Law joining the Fantastic Beasts cast, playing a character so universally adored,” said Toby Emmerich, president and chief content officer of Warner Bros. Pictures.
J.K. Rowling, who authored the Harry Potter novels, as well as the script for Fantastic Beasts, has written a treatment for the upcoming sequel, which Variety claims will tackle a darker wizarding world.
He beat out a lot of big names
Law reportedly beat a number of well-known actors for the role, including Christian Bale, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jared Harris, and Mark Strong—all of whom are fantastic choices. Law must have really impressed during readings.
With Law’s casting and several more Fantastic Beasts movies on the horizon, we can expect to see him quite a bit over the coming years. Eventually, we’ll see his Dumbledore take on Johnny Depp’s Grindelwald, who was the big surprise in the first film.
Fantastic Beasts 2 is currently scheduled for a 2018 release.