Although the first Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them won’t hit theaters until later this month, Deadline today brings word of a major development on the Fantastic Beasts 2 front. According to the outlet, Johnny Depp is set to join the sequel’s cast opposite the returning Eddie Redmayne. There’s no word yet on who Depp might be playing in J.K. Rowling‘s Wizarding World, but the original article suggests that we might even catch an early glimpse of his character when the new Warner Bros. Pictures film arrives in theaters November 18
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them opens in 1926 as Newt Scamander has just completed a global excursion to find and document an extraordinary array of magical creatures. Arriving in New York for a brief stopover, he might have come and gone without incident…were it not for a No-Maj (American for Muggle) named Jacob, a misplaced magical case, and the escape of some of Newt’s fantastic beasts, which could spell trouble for both the wizarding and No-Maj worlds.
The first Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them stars Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Dan Fogler, Colin Farrell, Jenn Murray, Jon Voight, Carmen Ejogo, Gemma Chan and newcomer Faith Wood-Blagrove. At this time, only Redmayne is confirmed to return for Fantastic Beasts 2, but it’s a pretty safe bet that a few more of the first film’s cast will also appear in some capacity. David Yates will also return to direct.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is being produced by David Heyman, producer of all eight of the blockbuster Harry Potter features; J.K. Rowling; Steve Kloves, who scripted all but one of the Harry Potter films; and Lionel Wigram, who served as an executive producer on the last four installments of the franchise. Rowling herself is supplying the screenplay.
