'Fantastic Beasts 2' News, Update and Release Date: Johnny Depp Casted As Grindelwald

A few weeks from the upcoming premiere of "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," with an entire series of that has been planned, which means that "Fantastic Beasts 2" is already under production. It was reported that Johnny Depp has been casted to the sequel.

USA Today reported that "Depp makes a brief appearance in 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' (in theaters Nov. 18) and will appear in the second film in the Beasts franchise." However, his reported cameo appearance was said to be an understatement, as it has been leaked that Depp will be playing Grindelwald, a dark wizard who sought to subjugate Muggles and who was defeated by Dumbledore.

As reported by Hypable, a source involved in the film confirmed that Depp is playing Grindelwald and even makes a surprise appearance in the newest "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" trailer, though only the back of his head is shown.

If the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them films follow the plotline previously established by J. K. Rowling, we will likely see Grindelwald and Dumbledore as friends (and maybe more - Grindelwald is supposedly the only wizard that Dumbledore fell in love with) before Grindelwald's maniacal quest for power drives them apart. While Depp has been announced, the actor who will be playing Dumbledore is not yet known at this time, according to Inquisitr.

"Fantastic Beasts" marks the latest movie series that Johnny Depp has joined, following behind "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Alice in Wonderland." Depp's other upcoming movies include "Murder on the Orient Express," "Labyrinth" and "The Invisible Man."

"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" is being produced by David Heyman, producer of all eight of the blockbuster "Harry Potter" features; J.K. Rowling; Steve Kloves, who scripted all but one of the Harry Potter films; and Lionel Wigram, who served as an executive producer on the last four installments of the franchise. Rowling herself has written the screenplay.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2 was reported to premiere in theaters on November 16, 2018.