Johnny Depp will play Gellert Grindelwald in the sequel to 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'.
Johnny Depp
The 53-year-old actor is set to star as the dark wizard in the follow-up to the upcoming 'Harry Potter' spin-off - which stars Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander - as the movie's director David Yates dubbed him as "pure talent" and "a real artist".
Speaking to 'Harry Potter' news website The Leaky Cauldron, 52-year-old David said: "The whole principal of casting the movie was go with the best actor. Go for the most inspired, interesting, right fit for that character.
"And as we approached Grindelwald we thought, 'Who's going to take this in an interesting direction?' In this business, it's a weird old business.
"You're brilliant one week, people are saying odd things the next, you go up and down. But no one takes away your pure talent.
"Johnny Depp is a real artist. 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."
And although his character is more predominant in the second instalment, The Hollywood Reporter states that Depp is also said to make a fleeting appearance in the first of the new movies, which hits cinema screens later this month.
The news of Depp's casting comes after it was revealed by J.K Rowling - who wrote the 'Harry Potter' book series - last month that the spin-off movie was set to become a five-part saga.
A post on the movie's official Twitter page read: "@jk_rowling has just confirmed the magic continues in a total of FIVE MOVIES! We can't wait #FantasticBeasts (sic)"
'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' comes out on November 18.
Tagged in David Yates Johnny Depp Eddie Redmayne