Fantastic Beasts: Mads Mikkelsen Says It Would Be Creative Suicide To Copy Johnny Depp

In a new interview with Collider, Mads Mikkelsen discussed the challenges that came with replacing Johnny Depp as Gellert Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts series. The actor, who is set to appear as Grindelwald for the first time in Fantastic Beasts 3, explained that he wanted to bring something new and fresh to the villain – while maintaining a lot of the characteristics that fans have come to expect from Grindelwald.

“Nobody’s interested in me going in there and trying to copy anything, that would be creative suicide immediately, especially when it’s been done before and masterfully. So everybody’s expecting us to find a different path. Having said that, we need a bridge between what he did and what I’m gonna do, so those bridges you have to find together, whether it’s a certain look, whether it’s a certain attitude in certain situations, but you have to make it your own. Anything else would be plainly just creatively stupid.”

In the same interview, Mikkelsen briefly discussed what attracted him to the Fantastic Beasts franchise, revealing that he is a fan of the Harry Potter universe.

“I’m a big fan of the Potter universe, and it’s a kind of genre that you don’t touch upon in my part of the world. You can’t get away with that budget-wise in Denmark, so obviously when it came my way it was a fantastic opportunity.”

Directed by David Yates, who helmed the first two films in the series, Fantastic Beasts 3 is currently scheduled for release next summer. The film stars Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander, Jude Law as Albus Dumbledore, Ezra Miller as Credence/Aurelius Dumbledore, Mads Mikkelsen as Gellert Grindelwald, Katherine Waterston as Tina Goldstein, Alison Sudol as Queenie Goldstein, Dan Fogler as Jacob Kowalski and Callum Turner as Theseus Scamander.

Source: Collider

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