There were a lot of rumors as to who would land the coveted role of Dumbledore during his younger years and it looks “Fantastic Beasts 2” has scored top actor Jude Law to fill the role. The Academy Award-nominated actor is taking the reigns from Richard Harris and Michael Gambon who played the iconic wizard in six “Harry Potter” films based on the best-selling novel by J.K. Rowling.
“As fans ourselves, we are thrilled to have Jude Law joining the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ cast, playing a character so universally adored,” Warner Bros. president Toby Emmerich said in a press release. “Jude has been a member of the Warner Bros. family for years and we’re excited to embark on this new adventure with him.”
Welcome to the Wizarding World family, Jude Law! https://t.co/axrt5P9fXP
— Fantastic Beasts (@FantasticBeasts) April 12, 2017
David Yates will return this summer to direct the franchise as he did with the first “Fantastic Beasts” film and four of the original Potter films. Law will be joined by Eddie Redmayne, who plays lead Newt Scamander, Johnny Depp in the role of Gellert Grindelwald and Zoe Kravitz, who’ll play Leta Lestrange.
It’s worth noting that Dumbledore will fall in love with Grindelwald before the latter becomes one of the most evil wizards that ever lived. Rowling herself, who will return to pen the script, has spoken openly about what transpires between the two.
“Dumbledore fell in love with Grindelwald, and that added to his horror when Grindelwald showed himself to be what he was.” Rowling said during a live presentation in 2007. In the sequel, “you will see Dumbledore as a younger man and quite a troubled man. We’ll see him at that formative period of his life.”
There’s no word as to how many films will include Law as young Dumbledore, but the franchise is said to include a total of five films. Fans will have some time to wait to see him in his long robes until November 16, 2018. But, you can catch him in the upcoming Warner Bros. title “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword,” in theaters on May 12, 2017.
