Fantastic Beasts 2 casts Johnny Depp as Grindelwald, the second most evil wizard of all time

The Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them sequel will star Johnny Depp as the infamous Dark Wizard Gellert Grindelwald. Director David Yates confirmed in an interview with The Leaky Cauldron that the actor, famed and/or disdained for his quirky characterizations, was an ideal fit. Depp's also set to appear in a cameo role in the first film, which opens next week.

“Johnny Depp is a real artist," Yates said. "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.”

Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and was formerly a staff writer at GamesRadar.