Johnny Depp Confirms He’ll Be Back For Third Fantastic Beasts

Johnny Depp spoke with Collider and EW promoting Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald and confirmed he’ll be back for a third film. Highlights from the interviews are below:

On playing the role: “I loved it…to take someone who is teetering on being a fascist, yeah, he’s a fascist, he’s one of those, but to play him as a sensitive, concerned yet manipulative and powerful wizard. The possibilities in that world are wide open, so you can really try anything. So it was a gas and I look forward to the next installment, which I think we start the middle of next year.”

On comparisons of the character to Donald Trump: “I don’t see Donald Trump comparisons at all. To me, there’s something almost childlike in [Grindelwald]. His dream is for the wizard world to stand tall and above. It’s a fascistic element, and there’s nothing more dangerous than somebody who is a dreamer with a specific vision that’s very strong and very dangerous and he can make it happen. But no character wakes up and goes, ‘I’m going to do the worst things possible today and be evil as hell.’ I do believe Grindelwald is an oddly likable character.”

On J.K. Rowling supporting him during the domestic violence allegations levied against him: “I’ll be honest with you, I felt bad for J.K. having to field all these various feelings from people out there. I felt bad that she had to take that. But ultimately, there is real controversy. The fact remains I was falsely accused, which is why I’m suing the Sun newspaper for defamation for repeating false accusations. J.K. has seen the evidence and therefore knows I was falsely accused, and that’s why she has publicly supported me. She doesn’t take things lightly. She would not stand up if she didn’t know the truth. So that’s really it.”

On what drew him to the character: “I found the character fascinating and complex. My instinct reaction is he was like a human version of Finnegans Wake: James Joyce’s novel begins and ends in the middle of a sentence. You come in in mid-thought and then it’s a very confusing ride.”