Jude Law To Play Young Dumbledore In ‘Fantastic Beasts’ Sequel

Jude Law is slated to play a young Albus Dumbledore in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2.

JUDE LAW TO PORTRAY DUMBLEDORE

David Yates will return to direct the sequel, and Eddie Redmayne will reprise his role as Newt Scamander. Johnny Depp will return as the villain Gellert Grindelwald, with whom Dumbledore has a rocky history in the original novels.

Richard Harris played Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films, and was followed up by Michael Gambon after Harris’ death in 2002. Law will take up the role decades prior to the events of the original series. While fans know Dumbledore as the headmaster at Hogwarts, he is still just the wizarding school’s transfiguration professor in the Fantastic Beasts timeline.

Christian Bale, Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Strong, and even Harris’ son Jared Harris were considered for the role before Law was chosen. “Jude Law is a phenomenally talented actor whose work I have long admired, and I’m looking forward to finally having the opportunity to work with him,” director Yates said. “I know he will brilliantly capture all the unexpected facets of Albus Dumbledore as J.K. Rowling reveals this very different time in his life.”

President and chief content officer at Warner Bros. Pictures, Toby Emmerich echoed this sentiment. “As fans ourselves, we are thrilled to have Jude Law joining the Fantastic Beasts cast, playing a character so universally adored,” he said. “Jude has been a member of the Warner Bros. family for years and we’re excited to embark on this new adventure with him.”

Law is currently starring in HBO’s The Young Pope, and is slated to perform is King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.