We return to the Wizarding World with ‘Fantastic Beasts 3‘, in which we will meet old acquaintances, such as Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law), and Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler), but we will also meet new characters, and of others, we will discover a totally new face.

The third, to be exact, that we see in the ‘Harry Potter’ prequels. We are referring, of course, to Gellert Grindelwald, the main antagonist of this saga, who was already camouflaged under the guise of Colin Farrell in the first one and revealed his true identity with Johnny Depp. 

The actor left the franchise at the request of Warner when the filming of this third installment had only just begun. He is replaced by Mads Mikkelsen, with whom we have had the great opportunity to chat, and no less than in the very Great Hall of Hogwarts (which can be visited on the ‘Warner Bros. Studio Tour London? The Making of Harry Potter in Leavesden, England).

Mikkelsen tells us that he has lived through the Wizarding World of J.K. Rowling through her children. “I learn something new every day as if I were reading a new page,” he admits. The actor is not new to turning to the dark side, but he does so with one of the most powerful antagonists in a franchise that has already given us such a legendary villain as Voldemort. 

“As with all good villains, we needed him to have a purpose, a goal that wasn’t too crazy, and in this case, Grindelwald wants to make the world a better place. How he wants to achieve that… that’s another thing.”.

‘The Secrets of Dumbledore’ will finally give Dumbledore and Grindelwald’s feelings for each other the importance they deserve. In fact, Mads Mikkelsen assures that this relationship is the center of his character: 

“We try to find out where they are in the relationship now. If there is anything left… beyond disappointment, of course. (…) There is no doubt that they have a very strong past. They talk to each other as if they had not seen each other in a long time but, at the same time, as if they had seen each other the day before.”

Next to Mads Mikkelsen sits Jessica Williams, the great surprise of the film, who comes with the desire to become a character much loved by Potterheads. She plays Lally Hicks, a professor at the Ilvermorny School of American Magic, whom we saw mentioned in passing in ‘The Crimes of Grindelwald’. 

This time she arrives as a full-fledged member of the group. “She is always willing to work for a greater good,” explains the actress, who is a poster fan of this franchise. She doesn’t hesitate for a second to beg her, and Lally, to visit other magic schools as they go through the series: 

“I can’t wait to go to Ilvermorny, it’s literally my dream. I’d love to see all the schools around the world. Japan! Paris! Brazil! I want to see them all!” This international component is one of the things that most attracted her to ‘Fantastic Beasts,’ she tells us.

And speaking of international, this film has as its plot the elections for president of the International Confederation of Wizards. J.K. Rowling flirts with politics again, and Mads Mikkelsen highly appreciates her parallels with the real world: “It’s all in the magic of JK Rowling’s writing and how it doesn’t detach itself from the human but just happens in our world. Politics is A dirty business, even for wizards.”

‘Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore‘ opens in theaters on April 8.