I appreciate and admire movies that take chances. They try something that may have been done a few times but not enough to exhaust the genre. Therefore, I went into a screening of Dust Bunny with a lot of excitement, especially to see how it pays tribute to Bruce Lee.

I have seen a few of Bryan Fuller’s TV shows, and he has a particular style and tone to his work that I enjoy. Therefore, I definitely wanted to see what he brought to his first feature film directorial debut, especially with it being a story that highlights the power of imagination.

Warning: Dust Bunny spoilers are ahead. Proceed with caution

Dust Bunny Reminded Me Just How Powerful Imagination Can Be

Dust Bunny follows Aurora (Sophie Sloan), a young orphan who suffers from a dust-amassing monster living under her bed who has eaten her caregivers. Children often claim monsters live down there, but that's never actually the case...until now. Part of what makes this such a fun concept is that Fuller takes a common trope of the childhood experience and turns it into an incomprehensible reality, like taking a child’s drawing and creating a 3-D version of it.

In that way, everything about Dust Bunny feels like it floated out of a child’s dream or imagination: The way it’s shot, the set design, the costumes, and the characters. The movie never quite feels real but you immediately accept everything as reality. Dust Bunny has been many years in the making and you feel that because you can see how much thought went into everything. It’s all a labor of love and a tribute to the power of imagination, especially that of a child.

Even if this is the real world, it’s also Aurora’s world. She holds the power to make it flourish or collapse - all through her powerful imagination. Dust Bunny shows how belief and dreaming can guide an imaginary or real world.

Imagination Helps The Film Blur Reality And Fiction

When Aurora claims she has a monster under her bed early on, we do actually see this monster in the flesh (as it were), but still don’t quite believe her claims. It’s then shown that some of what Aurora experiences doesn't quite align with viewers' sense of reality. For example, the first fight that Resident 5B (Mads Mikkelsen) gets into is funneled through Aurora’s imagination as him killing off a dragon, when he was actually taking out a bunch of foes beneath a dragon decoration.

Because Aurora doesn’t quite understand Resident 5B’s hitman nature, and finds her own ways to explain other details that she might not logically understand, it keeps us wondering if the dust bunny monster really exists, or if it is also a figment of her imagination meant to shield her from something more sinister at play.

At one point, I worried it the film would fall back on a brutal twist revealing that Aurora actually has been killing these families with malice. Granted, she is technically responsible, but not through active intentions You aren’t quite sure what’s real or Aurora’s imagination until the end of the movie.

The Dust Bunny Ending Works Because Of Its Emphasis On Imagination (And A Bit Of Real Magic)

Dust Bunny has such a fun and hilarious final act. It lives up to the hype and really delivers an over-the-top reveal after one of the coolest hallways fight scenes since Daredevil. When you watch the other hitmen, police, Resident 5B, and others finally seeing and suffering the wrath of the monster themselves, it's clear Aurora has been telling the truth.

But her truth is different from anything objective, as it's revealed she has had control over the monster as its owner, more or less, who believed it into existence. In the end, she's now aware of her ability to guide the beast and use it to her advantage. For a dark family movie that features parents getting chomped on, it's a fairly positive and uplifting conclusion.

Dust Bunny may not have been on your radar but it is absolutely worth catching as one of the final gems among the 2025 movie releases.

Dust Bunny is playing at a theater near you.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story has a reputation as the scrappy outlier of the long-running sci-fi franchise. It’s darker and more openly tragic than most modern, breezy Star Wars films and for years, fans have chalked that up to reshoots, behind-the-scenes shakeups and a creative process that clearly wasn’t smooth. Now, Mads Mikkelsen is more or less confirming all of that. According to him, he's not even sure there ever was a locked draft of the script.

While appearing on Variety’s YouTube series Does Mads Mikkelsen Know His Lines?, Mikkelsen revisited several projects from across his career, including Rogue One. When the conversation turned to Galen Erso and the film’s pivotal rain-soaked confrontation with his daughter, the Danish actor didn’t just reminisce about the scene's emotional weight. He got surprisingly candid about how fluid and unfinished the movie felt while they were making it. In his words:

For Mikkelsen’s character, a fluid script was probably fine but, as he points out, the film’s younger heroes, who lacked a locked narrative, made things much harder.

That context reframes a lot of Rogue One. The film’s characters often feel like they’re reacting to events rather than driving them, and the story unfolds with an urgency that borders on chaos. Hearing that the script itself was evolving in real time makes me wonder if the tone was a stylistic choice or a byproduct of the process.

Mikkelsen also described the physical difficulty of shooting his key scene, which involved artificial rain, freezing temperatures and an emotionally heavy monologue delivered while lying on the ground. Despite all of that, he doesn’t look back on the experience with regret. And that’s a good thing, because all things considered, Rogue One turned out pretty damn good, cementing itself as one of the best Star Wars movies and a fan favorite.

Rogue One is still widely considered one of the strongest Disney-era Star Wars movies because it feels raw, grounded and weirdly emotional in a way the franchise doesn’t always allow. Mads Mikkelsen’s comments don’t take anything away from that. If anything, they make the end result even more impressive, because sometimes a script that never fully “locks” leaves just enough room for the unexpected stuff to sneak through and stick.

Also, speaking of Mikkelsen not doing anything the easy way, he’s also closing out the 2025 movie schedule without letting up. He’s ending the year with Dust Bunny, Bryan Fuller’s long-gestating fantasy-horror hybrid that finally hit theaters on December 12. The project is its own full-circle story, too, since Fuller first pitched it to him at the Rogue One premiere nearly a decade ago, and it gives the Hannibal star another chance to show off the range that keeps directors calling.

Between anchoring an offbeat genre movie, being candid about his Star Wars experience, and continuing to bounce between blockbusters and passion projects, Mads Mikkelsen ends 2025 doing exactly what he wants, which is precisely why I’m already curious what he’ll pop up in as we head into the 2026 movie release schedule.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is available to stream with a Disney+ subscription.

Some plot spoilers below for the currently in-theaters feature Dust Bunny, so tread lightly if you haven't yet watched. (But seriously, go watch it.)

Bryan Fuller's feature debut Dust Bunny is the kind of spooky fare that totally made sense to hold as a post-Halloween 2025 movie release. Sure, it's R-rated and gets pretty violent, with lots of people meeting their makers in imaginative ways, but those elements are filtered through many other genres and tones than mere horror. We're talking Mads Mikkelsen as a hitman saving a quirky young girl from a fairy tale boogeyman and the far less fantastical line-up of foes aiming to kill him and anyone in his presence. Plus, it's heavily influenced by Bruce Lee.

To sum that offbeat premise up with a rave: Dust Bunny is a whimsical-ass delight from start to finish. (And I'm not the only one touting its excellence, or using some form of the word "whimsical.") As all my fellow Fuller-heads out there would no doubt agree, it's precisely the movie alchemy one would expect from the brain behind Wonderfalls, Hannibal and Dead Like Me. The director talked with CinemaBlend ahead of Dust Bunny's release, and when I asked about the multi-genre approach to Aurora's story, he told me:

Much like a tale from the Brothers Grimm, Dust Bunny gets right into the thick of it with Sophie Sloan's school-age Aurora. Her living situation seems normal enough at first, despite the fact that she so easily slips away and follows her unnamed neighbor, Resident 5B, into town and watches him take down a massive dragon via shadow magic. (At least that's what it felt like while watching.) Without drawing attention to it, that early sequence cleanly sets up the split dynamic between Aurora and her neighbor's perspectives.

Bryan Fuller talked about bringing the various narrative strands together with these two characters guiding the way, but without holding the audience's collective hands by way of exposition. As he put it:

Now, we obviously can't talk about Mads Mikkelsen's character literally entering a dragon (or at least a giant parade decoration of a dragon) without getting back into the Bruce Lee of it all. The martial arts legend, who was a movie and TV star on top of everything else, didn't live long enough to reach the age of CGI dragons on Game of Thrones. But I bet Lee and Mikkelsen's character could have overpowered all of those beasts. Or at least one of them.

Fuller talked about that early fight sequence was so key to not just the rest of the movie, but for his longtime kinship with his lead actor.

Anyone who's ever tried to use nunchucks as a child without any guidance likely also knocked themselves stupid more than once. But how many can say they grew up to play Hannibal Lecter and a hitman living his best Bruce Lee life?

A project whose life began 10 years earlier as a potential episode of Amazing Stories, Dust Bunny turned into a joyful highlight reel for Bryan Fuller in terms of what he was getting to do, and it sounds like all involved were happy to work hard to bring this unique vision to life. It helps when you get to use your actor's name in the fighting style, as Fuller does here:

Gateway kung fu horror sounds like the coolest movie genre possible for my 9-year-old self. And definitely also my 43-year-old self. I'm pretty sure I would have enjoyed Dust Bunny's monstrous frights and kinetic fights at any age.

Speaking of the fights, Bryan Fuller told me the excellent story that one of Dust Bunny's other fantastic action sequences — the hallway fight — was choreographed in part using an iPhone video of action figures flipping around. He shared:

Everybody needs that kind of playtime to shake up the usual drudgery of work. But I dare say that's an enviable example of playtime pulling double duties as work. And the video evidence is out there.

If Hollywood could ever go back to a point where indie filmmakers were more prevalent and as valuable to theater chains as would-be-blockbuster directors, maybe Dust Bunny wouldn't feel like such a singular experience. Wait, no, it absolutely would, since Bryan Fuller is one of a kind.

As is the adorable Sophie Sloan, who is somehow just as much of an eye-catching talent as Mads Mikkelsen and Sigourney Weaver, who also brings the goods as Resident 5B's superior. Other co-stars include David Dastmalchian, Rebecca Henderson, and Sheila Atim.

Dust Bunny is in theaters now, and I hear the monster under your seat will go get your popcorn if you ask real nice. Not like normal nice, but really nice.

The family horror flick isn’t a genre you hear about all too often — there certainly aren’t a lot of kid-friendly options on the upcoming horror movie list — and yet, here we are with Dust Bunny, Bryan Fuller’s feature directorial debut. Mads Mikkelsen stars as a hitman who his 8-year-old neighbor, Aurora (newcomer Sophie Sloan), hires after her family is killed by the monster under her bed. Critics saw the film ahead of its release on the 2025 movie calendar, and they have strong (but positive) reactions.

Sigourney Weaver, David Dastmalchian and a few others also appear in this fantastical thriller that CinemaBlend’s Nick Venable calls a “must-see,” but Dust Bunny is really all about the relationship between the little girl and the killer for hire. Natalia Keogan of AV Club gives it a B, noting how impressive it is for Bryan Fuller to tackle all of these moving parts — monster puppetry, a new child actor and lots of VFX — with such confidence in his first time at the helm. Keogan says:

Rotem Rusak of Nerdist raves about Dust Bunny for doing something new, blending comedy seamlessly into action-horror and making fantasy exist alongside reality. Every frame is purposeful, the critic says, and Sophie Sloan delivers a performance well beyond her years. Rusak continues:

Michael Gingold of Fangoria writes that the unique tone of handling dark subject matter with whimsical humor is Bryan Fuller’s specialty, and despite its R rating — for some human fight scenes, rather than monster-involved violence — it should work as an appropriate gateway to horror for younger viewers. (Parents should use their own discretion.) Gingold writes:

Aimee Hart of Polygon agrees that the R rating feels unwarranted and says this is definitely worth your time. Combining the mundane with the fantastic is what Bryan Fuller does best, Hart says, and Dust Bunny is able to delight and horrify in equal measure. The critic writes:

Carlos Aguilar of Variety calls the film “morbidly fantastical” and appreciates how, despite the bond that forms between the Intriguing Neighbor and Aurora, Bryan Fuller’s tone fends off sappiness, along with Mads Mikkelsen’s “grizzled nonchalance.” Sophie Sloan is impressive in how she handles the movie’s deadpan demeanor. More from the review:

Overall, critics are impressed with Bryan Fuller’s directorial debut, as it has earned a Certified Fresh 86% on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer. For anyone looking for something outside of the typical superhero movie or holiday rom-com, this gateway horror that combines the monster under the bed with real-life hitmen and plenty of surrealism might be a good option.

Dust Bunny is now in theaters, as of Friday, December 12.

Possibly the most imaginative and fantastic cinematic experience I had with any 2025 movie release, Bryan Fuller's Dust Bunny mashes up a family-friendly monster story with kinetic action sequences, but is really about the off-kilter relationship between a frightened young girl and her hitman neighbor. Everything about it feels like it's meant to be seen on the big screen, which is why it's so bananas that it's debuting nine years after Fuller and his Hannibal star Mads Mikkelsen first agreed to reteam for it.

In the film, which hits theatersw on December 12, Mikkelsen portrays a very skilled assassin with a target on his back, the kind of person who doesn't have time to save a young girl claiming the monster under her bed ate her parents. (Spoilers: it did.) It's a role that requires both physical prowess on top of emotional depth, and with enough charisma to make the guardian-damsel dynamic feel authentic. So it says something about the actor's abilities that Bryan Fuller wrote the script specifically for him.

The Pushing Daisies creator talked to CinemaBlend about the long journey of making Dust Bunny his directorial debut, which goes back in part to the December 2016 premiere of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. When I asked about reteaming with his Hannibal Lecter, Fuller told me:

This story is such a time capsule. Not only does it involve the highly acclaimed Rogue One prequel, but also centers on the largely forgotten Amazing Stories reboot, which Steven Spielberg EP'd for Apple's then-new streaming service. Fuller ended up bowing out of that project, which was no doubt disappointing at the time. But in hindsight, I think audiences are all the better for having Dust Bunny as a no-holds-barred movie instead of as an anthology installment.

However, just because Fuller wanted to make it happen immediately didn't mean everyone else in the industry was right on his side. Despite all the genre love for Hannibal and literal global lauding for Mads Mikkelsen's work, studio heads were hesitant for him to be the lead. The director continued:

To Fuller's point, Mads Mikkelsen is obviously great at pulling off chilling and threatening performances, but that's just a piece of the puzzle, and doesn't speak to how wide his range is. Dust Bunny certainly plays up the persona that wider audiences are familiar with, while upending it at the same time. For Fuller, that side of the actor's skillset is what was key to this particular story.

The twinkle in the actor's eye is unmistakable, both in Dust Bunny and in real life, and he definitely does deliver the goods that Fuller was so confident in. Some of it is certainly due to his excellent screen partners, from the wildly talented Sophie Sloan as the quicky and monster-fearing Aurora to Sigourney Weaver's A+ appearances as someone higher on the food chain than Mikkelsen's character. Mikkelsen and Weaver's scenes together are some of the most engaging in the entire movie, and are essentially just two characters talking at a table.

Can't do that kind of thing if you're a crappy actor, amirite? To that end, Bryan Fuller shouted out some of his favorite performances of Mads Mikkelsen's career as a way to exemplify the fully rounded acting chops that his lead embues.

I would love to see Mikkelsen heading up a full-on comedy where he can get really silly with it, but if that has to be sacrified in order for Hannibal Season 4 to finally happen, so be it. But I have to think that Dust Bunny raking in box office profits would only help that killer return happen. HINT, HINT.

Check out Dust Bunny's trailer below to hype yourself up for it.

Regardless of what plans you might have in the next few weeks, make sure that watching Dust Bunny in theaters is one of them starting on December 12, or else there might be a hungry monster waiting under YOUR bed soon.

Across the entire history of the James Bond movies, the actors playing 007 have been as compelling as the adversaries that opposed them on screen. In the spirit of those menacing performances, we’d like to highlight 32 actors who have played the villain in the Bond canon.

Joseph Wiseman (Dr. No)

The first villain in 007 history, the titular Dr. No helped introduce the world to SPECTRE’s brand of villainy through actor Joseph Wiseman. Notable credits of the Canadian actor include a ‘50s adaptation of Les Miserables, as well as an appearance in an early season of Law & Order. 

Robert Shaw (From Russia With Love)

While most movie fans would remember Robert Shaw from films like Jaws or The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, the man was also one of the most memorable James Bond villains ever. Playing Red Grant in From Russia With Love, Shaw’s SPECTRE agent was the first, and one of the best, dark mirrors to 007 himself. 

Gert Fröbe (Goldfinger)

Though he was vocally dubbed over in his role as Goldfinger’s titular villain, Gert Fröbe’s appearance was nonetheless imposing in the early era of Sean Connery’s James Bond. Coincidentally, Fröbe would also land a part in another Ian Fleming adaptation: the Dick van Dyke-led musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. 

Adolfo Celi (Thunderball)

Adolfo Celi is one of those James Bond villains that you may do a double take upon seeing them. But rest assured, the polyglot performer was the villain in both Thunderball and Operation: Kid Brother, menacing both Sean Connery and his brother Neil during the 1960’s. 

Donald Pleasance (You Only Live Twice)

Donald Pleasance certainly needs no introduction to fans of the best horror movies of all time, thanks to his role as Dr. Loomis in the classic run of Halloween movies. But his iconic career also holds the distinction of the actor being the very first version of Ernst Stavro Blofeld we see on screen. 1967’s You Only Live Twice ushered in the character, who eventually became James Bond’s cinematic arch-nemesis. 

Telly Savalas (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service)

While Telly Savalas was the second incarnation of Ernst Stavro Blofeld in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, some would argue that he was indeed the most menacing and charming. With a career that included films such as Kelly’s Heroes, and TV series like The Twilight Zone and Kojak, his spot in George Lazenby’s lone Bond movie only further proved his versatility. 

Charles Gray (Diamonds Are Forever)

Though Charles Gray appeared as an ally to James Bond in You Only Live Twice, that didn’t stop the powers that be from casting him to be the third variant of Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the 007 legacy. His balance of smarm and campy menace would serve him well later on, as The Criminologist in the film adaptation of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. 

Yaphet Kotto (Live And Let Die)

Even American acting legends like Yaphet Kotto found their way into the James Bond ecosystem. A veteran of projects like Alien and Homicide: Life on the Streets, Kotto was also the iconic Dr. Kananga/Mr. Big in Live and Let Die, serving as the first antagonist in the era of Roger Moore’s James Bond. 

Christopher Lee (The Man With The Golden Gun)

Sir Christopher Lee’s iconic acting career had him playing roles like Dracula and Saruman in The Lord of the Rings saga. However, his role as Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun is rather impressive for some other James Bond-related reasons. Not only was Lee a cousin to author Ian Fleming, but he was also one of the original actors considered for the role of 007.

Julian Glover (For Your Eyes Only)

A performer deeply canonized in the trenches of geekdom, Julian Glover has held roles in both the Star Wars and Indiana Jones movies, as well as a recurring spot in HBO’s Game of Thrones. That last connection is all the more exciting when you consider that For Your Eyes Only not only had Glover in its cast, but Tywin Lannister himself, Charles Dance, was also present. 

Christopher Walken (A View To A Kill)

While most people probably wouldn’t bat an eye at Christopher Walken playing a James Bond villain, most folks would more than likely be hard-pressed to answer the question of if he ever did. This makes Walken’s role in A View to a Kill even more exciting to behold, as the Dune: Part Two actor actually got to challenge Roger Moore in his final turn as 007.

Sean Bean (Goldeneye)

Fans of actor Sean Bean love to play an infamous game whenever they see the veteran of The Lord of the Rings and Snowpearcer on screen: “Does Sean Bean Die In This Movie?” Well, Goldeneye may have been the movie that started that craze, thanks to a string of opportunities in the decades that ensued answering that question with a resounding yes.

Jonathan Pryce (Tomorrow Never Dies)

Worldwide audiences probably best know Jonathan Pryce from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, as he played the father to Keira Knightley’s Elizabeth Swann. However, deep-fried fans of the Brazil actor’s work also know that Elliot Carver in Tomorrow Never Dies as one of the most effective Bond Villains. 

Sophie Marceau (The World Is Not Enough)

In one of the best plot twists ever, Sophie Marceau’s Elektra King goes from Bond Girl to Bond Villain in The World is Not Enough. Prior to that head-turning reveal, Marceau had been seen at the box office in the classic epic Braveheart, as well as the David Spade comedy vehicle Lost & Found. 

Toby Stephens (Die Another Day)

Toby Stephens’ Gustave Graves is another fantastic example of the “dark mirror” villain archetype at work. However, playing the eccentric Die Another Day villain seemed to allow the future star of Black Sails and Lost in Space to do something most 007 baddies don’t get to do: play James Bond through a series of BBC radio adaptations. 

Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale)

When he helped kick off Daniel Craig’s James Bond era, Mads Mikkelsen kind of fell into the role of Casino Royale’s sinister Le Chiffre. Of course, in the years since, he’s been seen as everything from a loving father in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story to the cannibalistic psychiatrist that gave NBC’s Hannibal its title.

Javier Bardem (Skyfall)

Striding the line between charming and chilling, Raoul Silva from Skyfall is a role that actor Javier Bardem was born to play. And that’s even after considering the fact that Bardem’s career had already seen him in projects like No Country For Old Men and Collateral. But even with that sort of clout at his disposal, one of his big scenes with Daniel Craig was almost cut.

Christoph Waltz (Spectre)

When Christoph Waltz was announced as starring in Spectre, all of the rumors pointed to the breakout star of Inglorious Basterds as the modern Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Considering he had quite a few baddies on his resume by that point, it’s kind of amusing to imagine a world where he wasn’t the Daniel Craig-era incarnation of 007’s greatest silver screen foe.

Andrew Scott (Spectre)

Andrew Scott is too good at playing a villain. Before he became Fleabag’s “hot priest” or even set eyes on the complicated figure at the heart of Netflix’s Ripley, Scott’s time as Moriarty for Steven Moffat’s Sherlock probably helped cast him as the hidden evil known as C in Spectre. 

Rami Malek (No Time To Die)

You don’t have to have won an Academy Award to play a modern James Bond villain. Though it may have helped Rami Malek land his No Time To Die role as Safin, an assassin who’s looking to wreck the world in his own special way. Malek’s casting came after years of roles like HBO’s The Pacific and the Night at the Museum movies giving him quite the shining star. 

Lotte Lenya (From Russia With Love)

A prolific singer and artist before and after her time in the James Bond series, Lotte Lenya only further entrenched herself in entertainment history in From Russia With Love. As the dominating Rosa Klebb, Lenya was one of the first lieutenants of SPECTRE seen going head-to-head with 007. 

Luciana Paluzzi (Thunderball)

Italian actress Luciana Paluzzi’s role as Fiona Volpe in Thunderball gave James Bond one of his most formidable femme fatales. Ms. Paluzzi’s portrayal would eventually win her roles on The Man from U.N.C.L.E., as well as its spinoff The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. Coincidentally, one of Luciana’s previous credits was in a film directed by Dr. No director Terrence Young. The name of that film? No Time To Die. 

Curt Jurgens (The Spy Who Loved Me)

As the antagonist in The Spy Who Loved Me, actor Curt Jürgens terrorized Roger Moore and Barbara Bach in a caper that brought together British spy and Soviet operatives alike. A Eurpoean film star prior to his James Bond casting, Jürgens’ career in world domination came later on in his career. 

Joe Don Baker (The Living Daylights)

Charles Gray and Joe Don Baker both hold a very important distinction in the James Bond legacy: they’ve both played heroes and villains in that very same series. In Baker’s case, his appearance as heel Brad Whittaker in The Living Daylights put him in a prime position to return in the Pierce Brosnan run as 007’s American ally, CIA agent Jack Wade.

Robert Davi (License To Kill)

You’ve seen and heard Robert Davi in everything from the Halo video games to the cult classic Showgirls. And right on the man’s impressive resume is a spot in the James Bond Hall of Fame, as License to Kill’s Franz Sanchez. His approach to playing a Bond villain was so in sync with Timothy Dalton’s 007, that it remains one of the best adversaries in the series.

Louis Jourdan (Octopussy)

As the roguish villain Kamal Khan, French acting legend Louis Jourdan’s part in Octopussy only added to an already prolific career. Jourdan’s talents were also seen in TV series such as Charlie’s Angels and Columbo, as well as films like The Return of Swamp Thing. 

Mathieu Amalric (Quantum of Solace)

How’s this for a coincidence? Before he played the main villain in Quantum of Solace, actor Mathieu Amarlric actually co-starred with Daniel Craig in Steven Spielberg’s Munich. Years later, the water-focused supervillain would become a part of the Wes Anderson repertory cast, through roles in The Grand Budapest Hotel and The French Dispatch. 

Michael Lonsdale (Moonraker)

The late great Michael Lonsdale made the role of Hugo Drax a very imposing figure in the Roger Moore-led adaptation of Moonraker. Years down the line, the French thespian would find himself co-starring with two other 007 actors, thanks to 1986’s The Name of the Rose and 2005’s Munich. Lonsdale starred alongside Sean Connery and Daniel Craig, respectively.

Charles Dance (For Your Eyes Only)

Believe it or not, Charles Dance once seemed to be in line to audition to replace Roger Moore as the 007 of the ‘80s. The man who would be Game of Thrones’ Tywin Lannister seemed perfectly positioned to do so after playing a henchman in For Your Eyes Only, but eventually declined to chase that opportunity. 

Famke Janssen (Goldeneye)

Before she became one of the actors that ushered in the age of X-Men being a successful film franchise, Famke Janssen made a name for herself against Pierce Brosnan’s Commander Bond. Starring as the henchwoman to Sean Bean’s Goldeneye baddie, her darkly comic menace is as legendary as her costuming. 

Robert Carlyle (The World Is Not Enough)

Scottish actor Robert Carlyle played the functional villain in The World is Not Enough, as his heavy Renard pushed James Bond further into a web of danger, intrigue, and nuclear weapons. And yet, his performance in this movie is relatively tame, considering he made his name as the uber-violent Begbie in Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting just three years prior.

Jesper Christensen (Casino Royale)

Mr. White was always the man behind the man, through both Quantum and SPECTRE’s runs in the Daniel Craig 007 stories. And Jesper Christensen was present to play that role in three of the five entries that made up that arc, appearing in Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, and Spectre. 

Mads Mikkelsen may be the most prolific portrayer of villains working today. After appearing in the latest Indiana Jones film, Mikkelsen has acted in almost every major movie franchise, most of which see him play an antagonistic role. While some may see it as typecasting at this point, the Hannibal actor doesn’t view it that way. Mikkelsen shared his feelings about embodying so many movie villains -- and why he believes the casting has less to do with him, and more to do with a frequent trend in Hollywood. In truth, I think he might be on to something here.

The actor recently attended the Marrakech Film Festival, where he received the honorary Etoile d’Or career award and screened his latest film, The Promised Land. While he doesn’t play a villain in that film, at the festival, he addressed why he believes he’s continuously cast as a villain in American movies. He said (via Deadline):

He definitely has a point. Some of the most famous villains in American movies do tend to have accents that differ from the protagonist(s). Movies like Inglorious Bastards, Die Hard, Rocky IV certainly back up the star's theory, and I’m sure there are many others throughout movie history that reflect the same trend. While this may be the case, the Rogue One alum doesn’t feel burdened by a villainous casting and feels like all the characters he has played have differed heavily from each other. The veteran performer continued:

Mads Mikkelsen may be one of those actors who always plays the villain, but his characters are far from boring. Hannibal is one of the most interesting and complex TV characters of all time, for example. In addition, Mikkelsen characters like Grindelwald from Fantastic Beasts and Kaecilius from Doctor Strange both have deep written lore associated with them. So they were certainly multifaceted characters for the actor to sink his teeth into. Mikkelsen has even previously said he’d be interested in playing another Marvel villain in the future, so he clearly isn't over being the bad guy just yet. 

Even though the Danish actor doesn’t mind playing big bads, I’m sure being the protagonist in The Promised Land was a nice change of pace. It's a Danish production, much like his movie Another Round, which won Best International Feature at the 2021 Oscars. The movie is getting great reviews out of the festival circuit and is also being postured for an International Academy Award nomination. While the actor may be becoming one of the most recognizable character actors in America, he remains a Danish leading man and continues to show his range.

The Promised Land has only been released internationally, as of this writing. However, fans will be able to see Mads Mikkelsen in his latest antagonist role in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, which is set to stream for Disney+ subscribers starting on December 1. For more information on other great movies starring the actor, make sure to check our feature on Mikkelsen movies and where to watch them.

Today more than ever franchise filmmaking is dominating the industry.  Sequels and spinoffs are a big part of major movie-making, and all those movies need actors to take on new roles as their worlds expand. Some actors become major stars in one franchise or another, but Mads Mikkelsen has started to make a career out of appearing in all of them.

Mikkelsen has been a Bond Villain, an MCU villain, a Wizarding World villain, and, in a rare twist, a Star Wars character who was not a villain. It turns out even Mikkelsen’s friends tease him about all the major film franchises he’s been a part of. The actor tells Variety that one of his friends even pointed out that just about the only franchise he hadn't been in was Indiana Jones. And that conversation that took place about a week before he was offered the role of the newest Indy villain. Mikkelsen explained…  

Mads Mikkelsen may see his high-profile success as a shock “for a Danish guy” but clearly the actor has something that all of these franchises have wanted. When the Fantastic Beasts movies needed somebody to replace Johnny Depp as Grindelwald, Mikkelsen was who got the call. 

He was also the man that James Mangold called when it came time to cast his villain in the new Indiana Jones movie. Certainly, that was a franchise Mikkelsen likely thought he would never be part of. And since only one movie announced it would also potentially make him the last Indy villain. Even Mikkelsen gets starstruck when he thinks about the movies he’s in and the actors he gets to work with, but he’s clearly happy to do his job. He continued…

There are even more franchises that Mads Mikkelsen has been part of that many might not be aware of. He's been part of two different Pixar franchises in another language as he lent his voice to the Danish dubs of both Cars and Monsters Inc.

Offhand, now I can only think of one modern movie franchise that Mads Mikkelsen hasn’t been in. He has yet to make a Fast & Furious movie, and while Jason Momoa is the current villain, he could always play against type and not be a bad guy in one of the upcoming Fast & Furious films.

Sometimes actors will take a gig like within the franchise of James Bond movies solely on the strength of the material. Casino Royale star Mads Mikkelsen counts as one such person, as the man who played the dastardly Le Chiffre didn’t know how "big" of a deal 007 was when he landed the part. Even stranger is the fact that he didn’t learn the truth until the London premiere of the 21st Bond film. 

Mads Mikkelsen recently spoke at the Zurich Film Festival (via Variety), where he shared a whole bunch of stories about his experience with Casino Royale. Among the tales discussed were the time he left his script on an airplane and how he and Daniel Craig’s torture scene could have been much more brutal. However, there was a new admission the Danish actor made regarding when he scored his part in 00-history:

Considered one of CinemaBlend’s 100 best movies of the 2000s, Daniel Craig’s James Bond origin story is a finely tuned machine. Mads Mikkelsen is no small part of that experience either, as his Le Chiffre is both oddly charming, yet utterly menacing. All in all, he's a perfect example of a modern Bond villain. That fact makes it all the more surprising -- and interesting -- to know that Mr. Mikkelsen had a severely limited amount of 007 knowledge to begin with. I must also say, though, a swanky shindig involving the Queen is certainly one way to be alerted to the hype.

Even as a die-hard James Bond fan myself, I have to admit even the most ardent non-fan would know who Richard Kiel’s Jaws is. So at least the fan-favorite actor had that in his pocket when trying out for Casino Royale. Then again, by the time his audition with Martin Campbell arrived, the two-time Bond director had given him the part rather quickly during a very busy day. 

Since Mads Mikkelsen went into playing the legendary Ian Fleming antagonist with only the knowledge of Jaws, he was freed of any sort of baggage other actors might've entered with. There wasn’t a Blofeld or an Elliot Carver, or any of the best James Bond villains influencing his performance. Le Chiffre was purely Mikkelsen's interpretation, and making him one of the most well regarded baddies in the 007 legacy seems even more sensical as he really went for it on instinct alone.

Perhaps this is something any future candidates for Bond villains, and even the central role itself, should keep in mind as we march towards Bond 26. While it’s still true that knowledge is power, sometimes feeling things out for yourself leads to even sweeter results. Even if those efforts sometimes need to be reined in by the director, who doesn’t want his spy film struck with an R-rating for extreme torture. 

Fans can revisit Casino Royale, and most of the other James Bond films, through the use of a Prime Video subscription. As to when Commander Bond will return to theaters, we’ll have to keep our ears and eyes open for whatever new developments arrive in due time.

Although the majority of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is set in 1969, the 2023 movie release began in 1944, when Harrison Ford’s Henry Jones Jr. met Mads Mikkelsen’s Jürgen Voller for the first time. Indy managed to successfully steal one half of the Archimedes Dial from Voller atop a moving train, and adding insult to injury, the Nazi was knocked off said train shortly thereafter. Frankly, the fall looked like it could have killed him, but members of the Indiana Jones 5 team have explained how Mikkelsen’s character managed to survive.

Production VFX supervisor Andrew Whitehurst and ILM VFX supervisor Robert Weaver spoke with THR about their work on Dial of Destiny, including how the train sequence came together. On the subject of how Voller made it through that nasty fall still breathing, Whitehurst opened up about what it was that knocked the character off the train in the first place:

Ok, so knowing that was a lightweight hose that struck Jürgen Voller rather than something like a solid metal bar explains why he wasn’t permanently deformed, although at high speed the train was traveling, I find it hard to believe that wouldn’t hurt at least a little bit. However, that was still one hell of a drop from the train to the river below, and in real life, you can be sure would lead to someone’s demise. In the Indiana Jones universe though, these characters are built of sturdier stuff, and that’s what Weaver attributed to Voller’s survival in the World War II flashback. In his words:

As for how this sequence was actually shot, needless to say that Mads Mikkelsen wasn’t actually tossed off a moving train, but Andrew Whitehurst did share that the Hannibal alum certainly put in the physical effort for that memorable moment in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. He explained:

It’s possible that Jürgen Voller was injured badly enough from that fall that it took several years for him to recover, but by the time he and Indy crossed paths again in 1969, he was in good health and now working for the United States’ moon landing program as “Dr. Schmidt.” But the passage of two and a half decades didn’t curb Voller’s more sinister tendencies, as he was determined to fully assemble the Archimedes Dial so that he could “correct” mistakes of the past. Ultimately he failed to accomplish this, but you can read our Dial of Destiny ending breakdown for more information about that.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is still playing in theaters, and stay tuned to CinemaBlend for details about its home video release and when it will be available for Disney+ subscribers to stream. You can also see where Jürgen Voller was placed in our ranking of the major Indiana Jones villains.

It’s been about a week since SAG-AFTRA officially called for an actors strike, and it’s been sending additional shockwaves throughout Hollywood along with the 2023 WGA Writers Strike raging on too. But as it turns out, not every major actor is sitting things out to walk the picket line, as we’ve learned that stars such as Jenna Ortega, Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway and more have been given the go-ahead to resume work on their projects thanks to a loophole of sorts. 

On Wednesday, a list of productions were released by SAG-AFTRA that have signed an “interim agreement” with the Screen Actors Guild that allows certain productions to resume work without violating the strike order. These productions that have signed the interim agreement and are posted on the site are reportedly completely independent – meaning they are not operating under a studio contract. Currently, 45 projects are on that list. 

Among the productions that were approved are projects that star some major movie stars. Death of a Unicorn for one, is an A24 film that is set to star Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega as a father and daughter who accidentally run over a unicorn on their way home. The movie was set to start shooting in Hungary from a script by Alex Scharfman, who is also directing, and now will continue to do so. A24 is not part of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which SAG-AFTRA has been in negotiations with, therefore many of the studios productions could resume as scheduled. 

Another movie of note that's been greenlit to continue production is The Rivals of Amziah King, a crime thriller starring Matthew McConaughey, since it's being fully financed by Black Bear Pictures. Additionally, there's David Lowery’s Mother Mary, another A24 movie, where Anne Hathaway will play a fictional musician and Michaela Coel will co-star as an iconic fashion designer. The movie has been described as an “epic pop melodrama” and is being financed by A24 and Topic Studios.

Other movies set to remain in production amidst the actors strike is Owen Wilson’s action comedy Bride Hard, a movie called Dust Bunny starring Mads Mikkelsen and Sigourney Weaver, and another action comedy called The Killer’s Game with Sofia Boutella, Scott Adkins, Dave Bautista, Ben Kingsley, and Ice Cube. Additionally, the upcoming horror movie The Watchers, which is set to star Dakota Fanning and be the directorial feature debut of M. Night Shyamalan’s daughter Ishana Shyamalan, is also set to still roll cameras. 

As actors like Mandy Moore have spoken out from the picket line about not getting residuals for their work, and one report about studios trying to get AI likenesses reminded us too much of a recent Black Mirror episode, it sounds like the independent movie space is getting a chance to resume work as usual at least. Stay tuned for more updates.

A pattern emerges when you take a look at the villains of the James Bond movies in order. It’s something that even Casino Royale director Martin Campbell noticed, which is part of why there’s such a gap in installments helmed by his steady hand. The character of Le Chiffre certainly differs from previous Bond villains, and actor Mads Mikkelsen recently shared some good reasons why that’s true, even with a classic touch that Campbell insisted on with his sinister gambler.

During a GQ video interview, the Danish actor, who can currently be seen in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, made a strong case for why the main antagonist in the 21st 007 adventure isn’t on the same wavelength as Auric Goldfinger or even Raoul Silva. The key to being so different from his baddie brethren is in the stakes, as Mikklesen described Le Chiffre as follows: 

Casino Royale sets this perception up perfectly, as when Le Chiffre is asked if he believes in God, he substitutes that deity for another power he holds near and dear: “a reasonable rate of return.” This financial terrorist doesn't want to rule the world, and he's not totally focused on shaking up the order of power either. So long as he makes a killing on his investments, he's happy to leave the rough stuff to other, more interested parties. 

Mads Mikklesen sets the character up so perfectly with his delivery, and as we see throughout the first of Daniel Craig’s James Bond movies, his actions are mostly dictated by his financial motivations. It’s only when Commander Bond start to interfere that the Quantum/SPECTRE agent literally wants to bust his balls.

Even that enterprise led to Mikkelsen and Daniel Craig dreaming up brutal tortures that director Martin Campbell had to walk his leads back on. Still, as Mads revealed in this interview, Campbell was all about pushing the boundaries of what Bond films could do. It’s the attitude that led the Goldeneye director to turn down several 007 films before Casino Royale came around with a fresh take on hero and villain alike. 

That didn’t stop Martin Campbell from wanting to add a touch of classic Bond villainy to Le Chiffre’s character. That's where the weeping of blood from an eye disfigurement came into play. As Mads Mikkelsen revealed earlier in this interview, that decision came from this franchise tradition that his director was looking to uphold: 

Blending the traditional with the unconventional, Casino Royale’s villain was still very much a part of revitalizing the James Bond formula for the modern era. While the tradition Martin Campbell chose to include with Le Chiffre is one of the more controversial aspects of the series at large, Mads Mikkelsen’s performance definitely made him a figure to remember.

Those of you looking to be dealt into Casino Royale are in luck, as a Max subscription is all you’ll need to live on the edge of the card table with James Bond himself. Otherwise, Mads Mikkelsen fans can see him playing the villain in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, which is currently showing in theaters.

The final installment of Harrison Ford’s epic adventure franchise is upon us, with another Indiana Jones adventure hitting the big screen. It’s been 42 years since audiences were first introduced to the Nazi-fighting archaeologist and 15 years since the last sequel, and now Dr. Jones is back for one final adventure, with Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas  and Mads Mikkelsen among those joining the franchise for the character’s swan song. The long-awaited film hit theaters June 30, and the critics are here to give their opinions of Indiana Jones 5.

Dial of Destiny premiered at Cannes Film Festival in May, and the first reactions held good news for fans of the franchise. The fifth and final movie in the series will see Indy’s estranged goddaughter Helena Shaw enlisting the retiring professor’s help in trying to locate a device that could change the course of history before the Nazis are able to alter the outcome of World War II. Let’s see what the critics are saying, starting with CinemaBlend’s review of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Our own Sarah El-Mahmoud rates the movie 4 out of 5 stars, calling it an ode to the franchise: 

Lauren Coates of the AV Club grades the movie a C, saying that while the movie is a success when it comes to the action, its lack of emotional stakes have the Harrison Ford character going out with a whimper instead of a bang. The critic says: 

Robert Daniels of The Playlist also gives it a C but disagrees when it comes to the emotions portrayed by the lead actor. Daniels argues that Harrison Ford elevates the rote script, saying: 

Lindsey Bahr of the AP rates Indiana Jones movie 2.5 out of 4 stars, saying there’s a sense of melancholy surrounding the film, as moviegoers know this is the last we’ll see of the storied character. And while not as good as the original trilogy, it’s a fun and dignified sendoff, Bahr says: 

Gabriel Ricard of Cultured Vultures rates Dial of Destiny 8 out of 10, despite the “thoroughly unpleasant” digital de-aging of Indiana Jones. In the end Harrison Ford is the heart and soul of the movie and the reason it works, Richard says, giving Ford's character the best farewell you could ask for. The critic continues: 

The fifth and final installment of the adventure franchise is in theaters now, if you want to see where you think Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny falls in the ranking of Indiana Jones movies. You can also relive the entire franchise, with the first four movies available to stream with a Disney+ subscription. Also be sure to check out our 2023 Movie Release Schedule to start planning your next trip to the theaters. 

Indiana Jones first graced the big screen over 40 years ago, and in just four movies Harrison Ford has created one of the most iconic big screen characters of all time. It’s been 15 years since the famed archaeologist wielded his whip, but adventure-cravers won’t have to wait too much longer to see him again. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny — the fifth and final installment of the series — is on its way soon, and it just premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. Those who were in attendance are hitting social media with their first reactions.

From what we know about Indiana Jones 5, audiences will be transported back to 1969 amid the U.S. space race with Russia. Indy learns that the moon landing program is being run by “former” Nazis, spurring him into action. In addition to Harrison Ford, John Rhys-Davies reprises his role as Sallah, while Fleabag star Phoebe Waller-Bridge has joined the Dial of Destiny cast as Indiana Jones’ goddaughter, along with Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Kretschmann, Antonio Banderas and more. Let’s see what Cannes festivalgoers are saying about the upcoming movie:

James Mottram of Games Radar rates the movie 4 stars out of 5, saying there’s a nostalgic feel to the film, as it takes audiences on a rollicking, globe-trotting ride to bring the series to a satisfying end. The review continues:  

Clayton Davis of Variety tweets that Dial of Destiny redeems the franchise, after the previous installment, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, was harshly received by critics.  

Donald Clarke of the Irish Times rates the movie 3 out of 5 stars, saying “nobody with a brain in their heads” will compare this Indiana Jones movie favorably to the first three, but director James Mangold keeps his foot on the gas until a “gleefully” absurd ending. If it were less ridiculous, it would be less fun, the critic says: 

The Atom is calling the movie an “instant classic” on Twitter and a career best for Harrison Ford. The site encourages movie lovers to book their tickets for this “historic” film: 

And according to IndieWire’s David Ehrlich, it looks like one big question will be addressed in the fifth and final movie: 

Twitter user "Kenny @Disney+" says that he isn’t able to say a lot, but the important thing is that he thinks fans of the Indiana Jones franchise are going to love Dial of Destiny. He tweets: 

Stephanie Bunbury of Deadline says the movie is fun, it’s wacky, and it works. Throw reality out, because the only real thing that matters is that the Nazis are the bad guys. The critic continues: 

Where will The Dial of Destiny fall in the rankings of Indiana Jones movies? If you need a refresher or want to watch the Indiana Jones movies for the first time, all four will be available for Disney+ subscription holders to stream ahead of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny hitting theaters on Friday, June 30. In the meantime, check out what else is hitting the big screen soon with our 2023 Movie Calendar. 

If video game fans thought that the early pandemic years were huge for video game legend Hideo Kojima, 2023 and beyond are shaping out to be even more impressive. The imagination-oozing storyteller only just recently delivered a holiday surprise in the form of confirming Death Stranding 2's existence with a teaser, and now he's revealed a film adaptation of Death Stranding will be the first feature project for his company Kojima Productions. I know I'm not the only one with a growing list of questions, such as "Will the movie maintain the game's all-star cast, as led by Walking Dead star Norman Reedus?" (We all say "as led by" in our heads, right?)

A game that has already drawn mass (though certainly not universal) acclaim for its already cinematic scope and narrative, as well as its varied cast, Death Stranding will still no doubt be a challenge to adapt into a format with a limited frame and runtime. It’s unclear just how deeply involved Kojima will be in the creative process at this early stage, though it’s noted that he will “develop and produce” the project through Kojima Productions alongside Alex Lebovici and his Hammerstone Studios banner. (Lebovici was an EP on the Stephen King-approved and crowd-stupefying horror Barbarian, which is a good sign.) So it’s likely the Metal Gear mastermind will be in charge of figuring out the story’s main beats, if not the entire screenplay. 

The Death Stranding feature is reported as being “on the fast track” and is in active development. The game’s specific plot will remain a mystery for the time being, though it’s already been confirmed that the adaptation will introduce new characters and elements into the branching universe. And since new characters means new actors, let’s talk about the game’s stellar cast and whether or not it’s feasible for everyone/anyone to return. 

For a quick rundown of Death Stranding's lead and recurring cast members:

• Norman Reedus
• Mads Mikkelsen
• Léa Seydoux
• Margaret Qualley
• Lindsay Wagner
• Tommie Earl Jenkins
• Troy Baker
• Guillermo Del Toro
• Emily O'Brien
• Conan O'Brien

Interestingly enough, some of the on-screen talent such as Guillermo Del Toro and Nicholas Winding Refn were only recorded through motion-capture, while their characters’ voices were provided by other actors. (Anyone familiar with Del Toro or Refn’s voices no doubt felt a shock upon hearing what came from their digital mouths in Death Stranding.) But for the biggest and most-present characters, the actor and their voices match up. 

Norman Reedus and Mads Mikkelsen would arguably be the must-get actors here, with Reedus’ Sam Porter Bridger the lonely protagonist to Mikkelsen’s militant antagonist Clifford Unger. Which isn’t to downplay the importance of Margaret Qualley or Lindsay Wagner’s characters in the slightest, or anyone else, but considering Death Stranding’s story largely keeps appearances from non-Sam characters to a minimum for much of its playthrough time, it’d be easier to explain away other casting changes. 

Reedus is currently in France filming the Walking Dead spinoff series Daryl Dixon, and has presumably already filmed the next season of his AMC series Ride (with Keanu Reeves as an upcoming guest star). He was recently revealed to be joining the cast of the John Wick spinoff Ballerina, and Death Stranding 2 is also presumably taking up some of his time. Assuming the Death Stranding feature takes a bit to come together behind the scenes, Reedus could possibly make room in his schedule to bring Sam out to deliver an endless line of cargo across the Knot Cities that form the post-cataclysm United Cities of America.

Meanwhile, Mads Mikkelsen will soon be seen opposite Harrison Ford in the cast of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, and was recently announced to be reteaming with Hannibal creator Bryan Fuller for the horror film Dust Bunny. He’ll also be seen in the upcoming Nikolaj Arcel drama The Bastard, Similar to Reedus, an opening in his schedule should make it easier for the actor to take on Unger in live-action, should he so choose.

I can’t wait to hear more about how Death Stranding will change up its story for adaptation purposes, which will likely amount to way more than the alterations made for the Director’s Cut release. Now if we could just get that long-awaited announcement from Kojima Productions about P.T. coming back from the digital grave, that’d be swell. 

Official details on Indiana Jones 5 have been few and far between since it was first announced but, as of late, fans have been getting more info on the highly anticipated sequel. Just the other day, the public got its first full look at Harrison Ford’s Indy in the fifth and final installment in the beloved action/adventure series. And if that weren’t exciting enough, tidbits regarding the plot have now been divulged as well. Among the juicy nuggets are specifics on Mads Mikkelsen’s shady character and more. 

Last year, it was rumored that Indiana Jones 5 would deal with space, more specifically the space race of the 1960s and would see the seasoned adventurer going up against ex-Nazis who are working for NASA. Well, all of that has now been confirmed by the film’s co-writer, Jez Butterworth. The scribe, whose body of work includes films like Edge of Tomorrow and Ford v. Ferrari, teased that the always-skeptical Jones isn’t going to take too kindly to the seemingly reformed Adolf Hitler devotees: 

The antagonist who is sure to cause the most problems for the fedora-wearing hero is the newly revealed Voller, played by the incomparable Mads Mikkelsen. Interestingly, the ex-Nazi reportedly draws inspiration from real-life figure Wernher von Braun. After he was cast, Mikkelsen spoke about what in honor it was to be joining the illustrious film franchise but shied away from going into specifics. But as part of Empire Magazine’s interview with the movie’s cast and crew, he was willing to shed some light on his character and his motivations: 

A hero is only as good as their villains, and the Indy films have produced some of the most memorable baddies in cinematic history. Paul Freeman’s René Belloq and Ronald Lacey’s Arnold Ernst Toht are only a few of the characters who fit that bill. Given how skilled Mads Mikkelsen is at playing evil individuals, he should have no problem following in his predecessors’ footsteps. You can get a look at Mikkelsen’s Voller in the pic down below: 

Of course, what is a villain without their top enforcer? In Indiana Jones 5, Voller will utilize the services of Boyd Holbrook’s Klaber. Holbrook, who previously hyped up the movie, also spoke to Empire. The actor didn’t spill too much, though he did say, “I’m a lapdog to Mads, and a crazy one at that.” Take a look at Holbrooks’ henchman:

Voller, Klaber and their cohorts will no doubt cause plenty of headaches for Henry Jones Jr., who will already be grappling with the new reality brought upon by the ‘60s. With the U.S.’ space race against Russia in full swing, society is putting a heavy emphasis on space explorers at the time. And with that, “the model of what a hero is has completely changed.” 

But at the end of the day, Jones has proven that nothing can keep him down, and the same is true about leading man Harrison Ford. The actor injured himself during production but eventually powered through the rest of the shoot. And even Mads Mikkelsen has praised Ford for being “an insanely powerful person” when it comes to staying in shape. On that note, I can’t wait to see their two characters come to blows during this cool-sounding story.

The still-untitled Indiana Jones 5 is set to open on June 30 as part of the schedule of 2023 movies.

Mads Mikkelsen got noticed by many Americans thanks to the NBC series Hannibal. The show was produced by Brian Fuller, who has had a successful career on the small screen, being behind several well regarded shows from Pushing Daisies to Star Trek: Discovery. But now Fuller has his sights set not on a new series, but rather a movie, and he’s going to bring Mads Mikkelsen with him for a new “family” horror movie called Dust Bunny.

According to THR, Dust Bunny will tell the story of a eight-year-old girl who goes to her neighbor for help with killing the monster under her bed, the monster she believes has eaten her family. While not specified, it seems clear Mikkelsen will play the neighbor. In addition to writing the script and producing the project, Fuller is also set to direct, marking his film debut in that role. 

One the one hand, this sounds like the wildest thing that two guts that made a series about Hannibal Lecter could possibly work on together. And yet, it actually makes a lot of sense. 

The premise of Dust Bunny sounds like a purified form of Bryan Fuller’s unique style. The show’s he’s created frequently have a very quirky feel to them and sometimes combine very dark elements with very light humor. Fuller’s style, being generally geared toward television, usually stops short of getting too mature for a prime time audience, and this sounds very much like it could be something in the same vein, though certainly as a movie if it wants to go further, it can.

Mads Mikkelsen sounds like the perfect bit of casting for a movie like this. Mikkelsen frequently plays villains, and while it seems his character here will be one of the good guys, he’ll likely still be playing the “weird guy next door” that this little girl goes to for help because she probably doesn’t have many other options. Mads Mikkelsen certainly has experience in family movies, he's made Pixar films, after all. 

While Bryan Fuller has made TV movies before, Dust Bunny seems to be designed as a more traditional film release. That’s not to say it will end up on the big screen, of course. The project might end up on Netflix or some other streaming service, but will likely be produced as a theatrical film rather than a TV movie.

Bryan Fuller is especially busy right now. In addition to this new movie, Fuller is producing a new series, Crystal Lake, a prequel series for the original Friday the 13th film. That show is set to debut on NBC’s Peacock streaming service. 

While we don’t know which of these projects will get first, since Dust Bunny has a completed script and has cast a major role, this will likely be Bryan Fuller’s next project, with Crystal Lake set to be what he works on once the movie is done.  

The last time we saw Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones on the big screen, he was chasing down crystal skulls, fending off KGB agents, and learning that Shia LaBeouf’s Mutt was his son. Of course, it’s no secret that Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was polarizing among fans of the franchise when it came out in 2008, but that didn’t spell the end of our favorite fedora-wearing, whip-wielding archaeologist going on cinematic adventures. Indiana Jones 5 was officially announced in 2016, and now it is one of the most anticipated 2023 movies.

This time around, Logan’s James Mangold has inherited directing duties from Steven Spielberg, who’s still involved with the film as a “hands on” producer. With the movie hitting theaters today, we have some concrete details about who plays who in the Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny cast. Let’s go over who’s on board, starting with the man who’s been the face of this franchise since the beginning.

Harrison Ford (Indiana Jones)

Other than Han Solo, Indiana Jones is Harrison Ford’s most famous character, having not only played him in the four movies, but also briefly reprising him for an episode of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles TV series, which starred Sean Patrick Flanery in the title role. While there may come a day when the Indiana Jones film series is rebooted with a new actor, this marks another recent time Ford has reprised a familiar  role, having appeared as Han in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (and briefly in The Rise of Skywalker) and Rick Deckard in Blade Runner 2049. He more recently earned raves for his work in television, namely as the lead of Paramount+’s 1923 cast and playing a psychiatrist in the Shrinking cast for Apple TV+.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Helena Shaw)

As Indy’s goddaughter, Helena – as it was revealed during the Dial of Destiny cast’s D23 appearance in 2022 –  we have Phoebe Waller-Bridge in her first collaboration with Ford, but not with one of his iconic characters, having played the droid L3-37 in Solo: A Star Wars Story. Most are likely more familiar with the Emmy winner as the lead of Fleabag, as the creator of Killing Eve, or as the co-writer of Daniel Craig's 007 swan song, No Time to Die. 

Mads Mikkelsen (Jürgen Voller)

Mads Mikkelsen adds to his already hefty list of roles in iconic franchises by starring in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny as Jürgen Voller, who’s been recruited into the United States’ moon-landing program. The ex-Nazi character – who first meets Indy in a World War II-set opener – is also the latest of many villains the Danish actor has played, including Le Chiffre in the first of Daniel Craig’s James Bond movies, Kaecilius in Doctor Strange’s great Marvel movies debut, the title role of NBC’s Hannibal, and when he took over the role of Gellert Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. However, his contribution to the Star Wars movies as Galen Erso in Rogue One was not antagonistic, despite being the Death Star’s designer.

Thomas Kretschmann (Colonel Weber)

Like Mikkelsen, Thomas Kretschmann – who appears as Colonel Weber, a Nazi aiding Voller, during that World War II sequence – has some experience causing trouble in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He appeared as HYDRA leader Wolfgang von Strucker in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Avengers: Age of Ultron, and you may also remember him from projects like The Pianist, 24, Valkyrie, and Greyhound. So it would be easy enough to imagine him playing an antagonist in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

Boyd Holbrook (Klaber)

In his second collaboration with director James Mangold after playing Donald Pierce in 2017’s Logan, Boyd Holbrook is playing Klaber, Voller’s right-hand man who has been described as a “crazed lapdog,” in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Holbrook’s other film credits include The Skeleton Twins, Gone Girl, The Predator, and We Can Be Heroes, while in the TV realm, he starred in Netflix’s Narcos, in The Sandman cast as The Corinthian, and is starring in FX’s Justified: City Primeval cast for his next villainous role.

Shaunette Renée Wilson (Mason)

Playing a government agent named Mason in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is just the latest terrific accomplishment for actor Shaunette Renée Wilson. While she hasn’t been professionally acting as long as the people already mentioned on this list, she’s nonetheless collected some impressive credits in this shorter span of time. Along with playing one of the Dora Milaje in Black Panther, Wilson was a main cast member on the NBC series The Resident for its first four seasons, and also recurred on Showtime’s Billions.

Toby Jones (Basil Shaw)

How about that? Someone who shares the title character’s last name is also in the Indiana Jones 5 cast as an ally named Basil Shaw, who is also Helena’s father. Toby Jones has starred in all sorts of movies and TV shows over the years – from Captain America: The First Avenger and Infinite to Wayward Pines and Sherlock. The Emmy nominee had a busy year in 2022, which included being a part of Amazon Prime’s The English cast and Sam Mendes’ Empire of Light, and he already got off to an interesting start in 2023 by starring in the Tetris cast for Apple TV+. 

Antonio Banderas (Renaldo)

Renaldo, a friend of Indy’s who shows up briefly when he is enlisted for his diving expertise, is played by Antonio Banderas, who is no stranger to movies involving action and adventure, whether it’s from his time voicing Puss in Boots in the Shrek franchise, playing Greg Cortez in the Spy Kids movies, or the title role of two Zorro movies. More recently, he gave an Oscar-nominated performance in Pain and Glory in 2019 and played the main villain in 2021’s The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard and in Uncharted the following year.

Olivier Richters (Hauke)

Olivier Richters’ role as Voller’s henchperson, Hauke, is the latest in a long line of physically imposing characters Indiana Jones would come at odds with. The Dutch bodybuilder could previously be seen in Black Widow as an inmate whom David Harbour’s Alexei beats at arm wrestling and in The King’s Man as a machine shack guard whom Ralph Fiennes fails to stop with throwing knives. 

Ethann Isidore (Teddy)

As Helena’s sidekick, Teddy, we have Ethann Isidore, according to The Guardian’s review of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Similar to Ke Huy Quan’s role as Indy’s sidekick Short Round in Temple of Doom, the blockbuster marks the young French actor’s feature film debut, but not his first acting experience, however. In his home country, Isidore previously appeared in shorts like Les Passengers and TV shows like the dramedy Sam and the Netflix exclusive fantasy series, Mortel.

John Rhys-Davies (Sallah)

Perhaps the most exciting known addition to the cast outside of Harrison Ford coming back to play the title role is John Rhys-Davies as Indy’s trusted comrade, Sallah, whom he portrayed in Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The Welsh actor – who is also known from the Lord of the Rings movies as Gimli – was confirmed to be returning to the franchise in footage shown at 2022’s D23 expo. Some of his more recent credits include lending his voice to Netflix’s animated fantasy series, Wizards, joining the DCEU as the Brine King in Aquaman, and – speaking of DC – voicing Bruce Wayne’s psychiatrist in the hit, Winston Duke-led podcast, Batman Unburied.  

If this is truthfully the last big screen adventure for Hollywood’s favorite thrill-seeking archaeologist, what a great ensemble he has to join him, at least. Head to the theater to see if there are any surprise appearances in the Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny cast now!

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s legal battle has been ongoing for years, and neither actor’s teams are showing any signs of slowing down. The Pirates of the Caribbean actor came out the victor when their defamation case’s verdict was revealed, and he’s been keeping busy with music and returning to acting projects. But could Depp return to the Fantastic Beasts franchise after his legal victory over Heard? Here's what his replacement Mads Mikkelsen thinks.

Johnny Depp was asked by Warner Bros. to step down from his role as the villainous Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts franchise after losing his libel case against the U.K. publication The Sun. Mads Mikkelsen was brought in to replace him in The Secrets of Dumbledore, but fans have been wondering if Depp might return to the role now that he’s been seemingly vindicated in court opposite Amber Heard. Mikkelsen was asked about this possibility during an interview with Deadline, responding with:

Well, there you have it. It looks like Mads Mikkelsen seems to be considering the possibility that Johnny Depp will return to play Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts 4. This would be a wild turn of events, although there’s a major barrier in the way of Depp’s return: the fourth movie hasn’t actually been confirmed by Warner Bros. just yet.

Mads Mikkelsen’s comments to Deadline are from his recent appearance at the Sarajevo Film Festival, where the conversation eventually turned to his debut in the Wizarding World as Grindelwald. And rather than feeling competitive about Johnny Depp or desperate to keep the role, the Hannibal actor acknowledged that things have changed, and Depp could be back. We’ll just have to see if this twist happens behind the scenes.

Later during that same interview, Mads Mikkelsen explained what it was like taking on the mantle as Grindelwald from Johnny Depp. This included his work as an actor, as well as his interactions with hardcore Harry Potter fans that might not have been thrilled about the way he joined the Wizarding World. As he put it,

Johnny Depp’s firing from the Wizarding World came as Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore had just begun filming. Mads Mikkelsen was quickly brought in as a replacement, and he definitely brought something new to the franchise’s main antagonist. The movie didn’t make any mention of this change in the character’s appearance, so could it happen again with Depp returning to the role? Only time will tell.

Fantastic Beasts: the Secrets of Dumbledore is currently streaming on HBO Max. Be sure to check out the 2022 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

Warning: Spoilers for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore’s ending are in play. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, feel free to head to our spoiler-free coverage on CinemaBlend.

J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World continues to unveil the past in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. The third in a proposed five-movie cycle, this latest prequel furthers the connections started in Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, with critics somewhat mixed in their reaction. At the same time, events mentioned in the Harry Potter series are brought back into the light, as Professor Albus Dumbledore’s secrets come to light.

As such, we’re about to dig deep into those titular "secrets" and where they might find Newt Scamander, Queenie Goldstein, and of course Mads Mikklesen’s Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts 4.  If you’re not ready to learn the truths we’re about to dissect, you should head to another part of the vast CinemaBlend library. We do have our official review available if you want to learn more, minus the plot sensitive details. From this point on, it’s spoiler city, as we jump into Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. 

Fantastic Beasts 3's Ending: Gellert Grindelwald’s Evil Plan For Wizarding Domination

After being cleared of all charges resulting from his actions in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, the titular villain decides to run for public office. Of course, Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen) isn’t going to run a clean campaign, as his ambitions to fight for wizarding supremacy know no bounds. As such, his plans to become the next Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards (ICW) are quite shady, and make up the main conflict in The Secrets of Dumbledore. 

Gellert tries to rig the election in his favor, which we see in the first act of this latest Fantastic Beasts film. Aurelius Dumbledore, formerly known as Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller), is sent to abduct a newborn Qilin, a beast that’s known to see deep into the heart and soul of a person and deem them truly worthy. Used in the ritual known as The Walk of the Qilin, the ICW enlists the creature's abilities to determine which candidate for Supreme Mugwump should be victorious. 

By abducting one of the baby Qilins, Grindlewald not only can see the future through using the beast’s blood, but by resurrecting it he’s able to convince it he’s worthy of becoming Supreme Mugwump. It all goes according to plan, and for a moment it looks like Gellert Grindelwald will have his way. Grindelwald celebrates by torturing Jacob Kowalski with the Cruciatus Curse, before eventually being stopped in his tracks.

Albus Dumbledore and his team of heroes actually managed to expose these misdeeds towards the end of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, with the thanks of a pure Qilin. The uninfluenced twin bows in front of Albus Dumbledore, who naturally abdicates the post. Which means that candidate Victoria Santos (Maria Fernanda Cândido) is named the next Supreme Mugwump, and Grindelwald flees. 

The Blood Pact: How The Dumbledores Broke Grindelwald’s Oath And What's Next

In the middle of all of this activity, we see the blood pact that prevented Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald from fighting each other broken. After being exposed, Grindelwald attempts to kill the already dying Aurelius Dumbledore, but is stopped by his father Aberforth (Richard Coyle) and uncle Albus. Both brothers cast spells to protect their own, and for the moment the young man is spared. When explaining how this magic worked the way it did, Albus states the following:

This is not only a repeat of the three-way duel these men had in their youth, it also feels like a callback/setup for how Harry survives Voldemort’s attempt to murder him. The protective spells of both Dumbledore brothers cancel out Grindelwald’s lethal strike, as well as breaks the blood pact between the former couple. While Albus couldn't act against Gellert, he could act to protect Aurelius, which nullified the blood pact. 

Of course, now the path is set for Gellert Grindelwald and Albus Dumbledore to engage in what some would eventually call the greatest wizarding duel ever. The events in Fantastic Beasts 3 open doors for the duel, which we know will ultimately happen in 1945 and comes before Dumbledore becomes the Hogwarts Headmaster we know and love from Harry Potter as well as the person who earned the right to the Elder Wand. 

How Jacob Kowalski And Queenie Goldstein Set A Path For Wizards And Muggles After The Crimes Of Grindelwald

For most of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, the seemingly starcrossed Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) and Queenie Goldstein (Alison Sudol) are still separated. As the Goldstein sister defected to Gellert Grindelwald’s side in The Crimes of Grindelwald, she starts the movie in the company of the infamous wizard and his nefarious deeds. That seems to take its toll on her, even when Queenie briefly sees Jacob in Berlin, allegedly trying to assassinate Grindelwald. 

By the time these still-opposing forces meet in Bhutan for The Walk of the Qilin, a huge election in the magical world, Jacob tries and succeeds in talking Queenie out of sticking with the bad guys. From that point, Queenie rejects Grindelwald’s cruelty, and helps the rest of the heroes in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore save the day from the heinous scheme at the heart of the villain's plan. 

It seems that Queenie Goldstein has escaped Gellert Grindelwald, and if Fantastic Beasts 4 happens, she and Jacob Kowalski will hopefully be able to team up to continue advocating for Muggle/Wizard relationships. With the nastier climate of Gellert Grindelwald's eventual rise to power looming in the distance, Queenie and Jacob could be targets of Grindelwald's more fanatical pureblood followers at some point in the future. Hopefully, their love will get them through. (More on that later). 

Newt, Tina And The Future Event That Still Needs To Come Into Play In Fantastic Beasts 4 And 5

Perhaps the most anticipated event, and the one that prompted fans to ask “Where’s Tina?” in the marketing blitz for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, is the eventual marriage between the mostly absent Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston) and Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne). An educated guess would suggest that this moment would be the huge capstone to the entire five-film cycle, but again, we’re not sure that’s even going to happen at this moment.

There's also the question of Newt's trusty assistant/admirer Bunty Broadacre (Victoria Yeates), who's seemingly in love with her boss. With Tina gone for most of this movie and Bunty stepping up to save the day, there's potential for a love triangle to gum up the works for this supposedly smooth romance.  I'm particularly thinking of the moment Bunty looks a bit uncomfortable during Newt and Tina's reunion at the end of this movie, and if she gets more screen time in 4 there's potential she could speak about her feelings. If this happens, it'll only complicate matters further, as we still have Gellert Grindelwald's reign of terror to look forward to in Fantastic Beasts 4 and/or 5.

How The Secrets Of Dumbledore Ends On A Happy Note, But Hints At More Darkness To Come

The latest attempts by Gellert Grindelwald to instigate open war between wizards and muggles failed thanks to some ingenious moves by the team, and one in particular from Bunty. With Grindelwald fleeing from capture -- but swearing he was never an enemy to the magical world -- a temporary peace returns. It’s the perfect time for self-reflection, reunions, and a wedding! We get all of those things at the end of Fantastic Beasts 3, as Jacob Kowalski and Queenie Goldstein are wed in Jacob’s New York based bakery. 

Returning for the nuptials is Tina Goldstein, who we finally see reuniting with her future husband and previous partner in crime Newt Scamander. Right before everything gets underway, Newt is visited by Professor Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law), with whom he had teamed up in order to thwart Grindelwald’s latest plans. After a brief reunion, Dumbledore bittersweetly observes the wedding in progress, and walks off into the snowy streets of New York.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore opens a lot of doors for the future of the Wizarding World’s past. Danger and dark times loom ahead, but the current mood of romance and happiness is a beautiful thing to cling to. Should the latest installment in J.K. Rowling’s cinematic universe perform well enough, we might see how it all pans out yet. 

If you’ve read through this entire rundown and haven’t seen Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, the film is now currently showing in theaters. If you need a refresher course before heading out, the first two movies are available for streaming on HBO Max at the time of this writing. For a look at what’s heading to a cinema near you in the year to come, the full rundown of 2022 movie releases is available for your perusal. Just mind the stray Nifflers you may find along the way.

Despite the circumstances that led to it, it is still pretty exciting to see Mads Mikkelsen join the cast of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore as the Harry Potter prequel franchise’s new Gellert Grindelwald. Reason being: the Danish actor can play one mean villain, as also seen in almost every major franchise he has been apart of so far, including the Bond films and the MCU.

However, his mastery of menace is far from his only valuable tool as a performer, having also played a few heroic badasses in his day and flexed his comedic muscles as characters you would have never expected from him. Let’s take a look at the many shades of the actor with our picks for Mads Mikkelsen's best movies, along with tips on where to find them on streaming, as a digital rental, or for purchase on physical media, starting with his first movie and its sequel.

Pusher And Pusher II (1996, 2004)

A low-level drug dealer (Kim Bodnia) becomes the target of his ruthless employers after a bust leaves him without product or profit and, years later, his friend and former business partner (Mads Mikkelsen) struggles desperately to turn his life around after he is released from prison for a second time.

Why they are some of the best Mads Mikkelsen movies: After making his feature film debut in Pusher - also the debut of writer and director Nicolas Winding Refn of Drive fame - Mikkelsen would reprise his role as Tonny eight years later in Pusher II - the second installment of this daringly brutal trilogy set in Denmark’s criminal underworld.

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Stream Pusher II on Amazon Prime.
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Get The Pusher Trilogy on DVD on Amazon.

Valhalla Rising (2009)

An undefeated pagan warrior prisoner (Mads Mikkelsen) and an adolescent fellow slave (Maarten Stevenson) manage to escape together, but only to join a crew of Vikings on an ill-fated quest by boat into the unknown in 1,000 A.D.

Why it’s one of the best Mads Mikkelsen movies: In his first collaboration with writer and director Nicolas Winding Refn after the Pusher Trilogy, Mikkelsen proves that he can still put on a lasting, tour de force performance even with the use of just one eye and without speaking a word, in Valhalla Rising - one of Refn’s most unique experiments, but not without his signature brutality, inspired by Norse mythology.

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Casino Royale (2006)

Soon after he is promoted to “double-0” status, a maverick MI-6 agent (Daniel Craig) is assigned to put his noteworthy poker skills to use in a high-stakes international tournament against a notorious banker (Mikkelsen) known for funding terrorists.

Why it’s one of the best Mads Mikkelsen movies: Mikkelsen first introduced his talent for villainy to the American mainstream with his spine-tingling face-off against first-time 007 actor Craig as Le Chiffre in Casino Royale - director Martin Campbell’s gritty reinvention of the James Bond saga.

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Doctor Strange (2016)

After suffering a devastating car accident that makes him unable to continue his work, a once renowned surgeon (Benedict Cumberbatch) is led by his desperate search for a cure to discover the mystic arts, which he must use to defend his dimension from a looming threat.

Why it’s one of the best Mads Mikkelsen movies: Perhaps Mads Mikkelsen’s second best known villain role is the power-hungry sorcerer, Kaecilius, in Doctor Strange - horror director Scott Derrickson’s first foray into the comic book movie genre and one of the most visually stunning installments of Marvel Cinematic Universe yet.

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Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

A disillusioned loner (Felicity Jones) joins a ragtag group of resistance fighters for a mission to steal the blueprints for a moon-sized, planet destroying weapon from the Galactic Empire.

Why it’s one of the best Mads Mikkelsen movies: For his second appearance in a Disney-owned franchise in 2016, Mads Mikkelsen joined the Star Wars universe as the designer of the Death Star, but is still, surprisingly, not the villain of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - a thrilling direct prequel to the 1977 original film that feels like more of a real war film than most installments of the franchise.

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The Salvation (2014)

After losing his wife and son to murderous kidnappers, a Danish settler (Mads Mikkelsen) kills them out of revenge and puts himself at odds with their brother, a ruthless land baron (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), and citizens of a small town too frightened to stand up to him in 1870s America.

Why it’s one of the best Mads Mikkelsen movies: Mikkelsen would reunite with Casino Royale’s Bond girl, Eva Green, but, this time, would get to play the heroic badass opposite another actor well-regarded for a few villainous performances (Morgan) in The Salvation - an old school revenge Western from Danish filmmaker Kristian Levring.

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Arctic (2018)

After suffering a crash landing in the Arctic Circle, a man (Mads Mikkelsen) must brave the biting cold weather and unforgivably rough terrain in hopes of finding a safe haven for him an injured young woman (Maria Thelma Smáradóttiir).

Why it’s one of the best Mads Mikkelsen movies: Mikkelsen, once again, gives a magnificent performance as a heroic badass in co-writer and director Joe Penna’s feature-length film debut, Arctic - a  gripping survival thriller in which the villain is nature itself.

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The Hunt (2014)

After losing his wife to divorce and in the midst of trying to gain custody of his son, a Kindergarten teacher (Mads Mikkelsen) struggles to prove his innocence to his colleagues and close friends after one of his students, falsely and without reason, accuses him of sexual abuse.

Why it’s one of the best Mads Mikkelsen movies: Not to be confused with an action-horror flick of the same title from 2020, The Hunt is an intense drama that sees Mikkelsen give one of the most superb performances of his career and earned Danish co-writer, director, and producer Thomas Vinterberg an Academy Award nomination for Best International Feature Film (when it was still called Best Foreign Language Film).

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Another Round (2020)

After discussing a theory that humans are, actually, born with too low a natural blood alcohol content, four high school teachers and close friends decide to test how drinking on a more regular basis might improve their lives - an experiment that eventually proves consequential.

Why it’s one of the best Mads Mikkelsen movies: In his first collaboration with co-writer and director Thomas Vinterberg after The Hunt, Mads Mikkelsen demonstrates a superb balance of humor with grounded drama in Another Round - an inventive dramedy (with an English-language remake in the works) which also earned Vinterberg an Oscar nomination for directing and a win for the Best International Feature Film award that year.

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Men & Chicken (2015)

After learning that their father was not their biological parent after his death, a disillusioned college professor (David Dencik) and his trivially minded brother (Mads Mikkelsen) travel to a distant island to get in touch with their eccentric true relative, leading to a startling discovery about themselves.

Why it’s one of the best Mads Mikkelsen movies: In one of his strangest collaborations with writer and director Anders Thomas Jensen (which is really saying something, believe me), Mikkelsen offers, once again, a superb balance of humor, but with slightly less grounded drama, in Men & Chicken - a very unique and sometimes unnerving dark comedy. 

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BONUS: Hannibal (2013-2015)

Despite gifts that make him a leading expert in the field of investigations, a young criminal profiler for the FBI (Hugh Dancy) enlists the professional and personal consultation of a mysteriously alluring forensic psychiatrist (Mads Mikkelson), who happens to have a few disturbing secrets of his own.

Why it’s one of the best Mads Mikkelsen TV shows: This may be a list of the best Mads Mikkelsen movies, but we feel that we have a certain obligation to give some attention to what is, arguably, his most chilling and definitive performance as the title role of NBC’s Hannibal - a short-lived, but much-loved, and visually engrossing crime drama inspired by the series of novels by Thomas Harris.

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Mads Mikkelsen has said that he would return for another season as Dr. Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter in a heartbeat. For now, watching him bring madness to the Wizarding World in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore - in theaters April 15 - is splendid enough.

The Wizarding World — whether in the Harry Potter movies or the Fantastic Beasts franchise — has long been home to several of cinema’s most beloved heroes and detestable villains, with the likes of “The Boy Who Lived” and “He Who Shall Not Be Named” leading the pack. Over the years, the movies, which are based on books and other texts by J.K. Rowling, have given these characters room to shine despite each title featuring so many witches, wizards, muggles, and magical creatures.

And, that is again the case in the latest entry in the successful film franchise, as the enchanting Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore cast is loaded with unique characters. Let’s take a look at some of those familiar faces from one of the most anticipated new movie releases of 2022.

Eddie Redmayne (Newt Scamander)

Returning as the fearless magizoologist Newt Scamander in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is Eddie Redmayne, who has portrayed the beloved character since the series first got underway back in 2016.

Outside of the two previous entries in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, Redmayne is best remembered for his Academy Award-winning performance in the 2014 Stephen Hawking biographical drama The Theory of Everything. Redmayne has also had memorable roles in everything from The Danish Girl to the Netflix original movie The Trial of the Chicago 7, and Les Misérables to My Week with Marilyn.

Jude Law (Albus Dumbledore)

Jude Law is back once more to portray the incredibly powerful and conflicted Albus Dumbledore, the teacher of Defense Against the Dark Arts who would one day go on to become the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

One of the most prolific and recognizable members of the Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore cast, Law has appeared in countless film, TV, and stage productions throughout his career, including The Talented Mr. Ripley, Cold Mountain, The Young Pope, The Third Day, Henry V, and Hamlet. Law has also had major roles in the Contagion cast and in movies like Captain Marvel and The Holiday.

Mads Mikkelsen (Gellert Grindelwald)

The third actor to take on the role, Mads Mikkelsen plays Gellert Grindelwald, the dark wizard who has been behind the various struggles and conflicts throughout the Fantastic Beasts franchise thus far.

A prolific actor in his own right, Mikkelsen’s talents and versatility have allowed him to play sadistic villains like Le Chiffre in Casino Royale, conflicted scientists like Death Star designer Galen Erso in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and one of the best iterations of the Hannibal Lecter character on Hannibal. With that in mind, his mysterious role in the upcoming fifth Indiana Jones movie could go either way.

Dan Fogler (Jacob Kowalski)

Back again as Jacob Kowalski, the lovable No-Maj baker and trustworthy best friend of Newt Scamander, is Dan Fogler, who brings his charm, comedic timing, and earnestness to the Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore cast.

Known for his TV work on shows like The Walking Dead, The Goldbergs, and numerous others, Fogler also has had a great deal of film roles throughout his career. This includes the 2007 sports comedy Balls of Fury, Kung Fu Panda, Don Peyote, In Like Flynn, and The Argument. He is next to set to portray Francis Ford Coppola in the Paramount+ original series The Offer.

Alison Sudol (Queenie Goldstein)

Returning as Queenie Goldstein, the powerful legilimens who has long been a love interest of Jacob Kowalski, is Alison Sudol.

Outside of the Fantastic Beasts franchise, Sudol has appeared in movies like Between Us, and The Last Full Measure, and on a list of shows that includes CSI: NY, Transparent, and Dig. Sudol also has a music career, with several albums being released over the years. In April 2022, she debuted the video for her latest single, “Peaches,” on her official YouTube page.

Ezra Miller (Credence Barebones / Aurelius Dumbledore)

Ezra Miller is back in the Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore cast as Credence Barebones, a.k.a. Aurelius Dumbledore, the dark, tormented, and forgotten member of the Dumbledore family.

Miller, one of the most recognizable faces in today’s Hollywood, is no stranger when it comes to multi-part film franchises, as they have appeared in the DCEU with titles like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, and Zack Snyder’s Justice League under their belt. They will once again portray Barry Allen in the 2023 superhero film, The Flash. MIller’s other work includes The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Stanford Prison Experiment, and Trainwreck.

Jessica Williams (Eulalie Hicks)

Jessica Williams reprises her role of Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Professor Eulalie “Lally” Hicks, who helps Dumbledore’s team track down Grindelwald and his dark army.

Williams, who previously appeared in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, had also served as a long-time correspondent on The Daily Show and host of 2 Dope Queens, as well as appeared on shows like Love Life Season 2, The Twilight Zone, Girls, and Just For Kicks. Her film work includes Netflix's The Incredible Jessica James, Booksmart, Corporate Animals, and Hot Tub Time Machine 2.

Callum Turner (Theseus Scamander)

Callum Turner appears in the Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore cast Theseus Scamander, Newt’s older brother and British Ministry of Magic Auror, who’s also somewhat of a war hero.

Throughout his career, Turner has appeared in movies like Victor Frankenstein, Emma, The Only Living Boy in New York, and Green Room. His TV work includes shows like The Town, Ripper Street, Glue, War & Peace, and The Capture. Turner is next set to star alongside Joel Edgerton in George Clooney’s upcoming drama about the 1936 gold medal-winning men's Olympic rowing team, Boys in the Boat, according to Deadline.

William Nadylam (Yusuf Kama)

William Nadylam reprises his role of French-Senegalese wizard Yusuf Kama in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, joining Newt Scamander’s team to prevent the destruction of the world.

Outside of his Wizarding World debut in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, in which he attempted to kill Credence Barebones, Nadylam has spent most of his career appearing in French films like L’Absence, L’affaire SK1, and White Material. He has also popped up on various TV shows over the years, including Murphy’s Law, Les Oubliées, and Parlement.

Richard Coyle (Aberforth Dumbledore)

Stepping in to take on the role of Albus Dumbledore’s younger brother, Aberforth, in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is veteran actor Richard Coyle, who brings with him decades of experience on the silver screen and small screen.

Fans of the Netflix original series The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina will recognize Coyle from his portrayal of the frequently menacing Father Blackwood, but that is just his latest contribution to TV. Other shows include Coupling, A.D. The Bible Continues, Strange, and The Fall. His list of film credits includes everything from Happy Now? to A Good Year, and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time to Pusher, with several dozen other features in between.

Victoria Yeates (Bunty Broadacre)

Returning to Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is Victoria Yeates, who once again portrays the character of Bunty Broadacre, Newt Scamander’s trusty assistant.

In addition to popping up as a magical character in the Wizarding World, Yeates has also appeared in another witchcraft-centric series, A Discovery of Witches, on which she portrayed Elizabeth Jackson. But Yeates is probably best remembered for her portrayal of Sister Winifred on the long-running historical drama, Call the Midwife, from 2014 to 2019. Her other TV work includes Holby City and Lip Service.

Fiona Glascott (Minerva McGonagall)

Minerva McGonagall has long been one of the most beloved characters in the Harry Potter movies franchise, with several iconic moments throughout the franchise. And while Maggie Smith isn’t playing  Albus Dumbledore’s close friend, the character is once again portrayed by Fiona Glascott, who first took on the role in 2018, in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.

Over the years, Glascott has popped up in movies like Resident Evil, Brooklyn, and The Duel, as well as shows like Casualty, The Musketeers, and Midsomer Murders, to name only a few.

Katherine Waterston (Porpentina Goldstein)

Although she doesn’t play as big of a role as she did in the previous two movies in the franchise, Katherine Waterston once again shows up as Porpentina “Tina” Goldstein, who has more than enough experience taking on the villainous Gellert Grindelwald.

In addition to being a big part of the first two Fantastic Beasts movies, Waterston has also appeared in a number of major films the past decade or so with titles like Alien: Covenant, Logan Lucky, Mid90s, Steve Jobs, and The World to Come all coming to mind. She also had a brief role on the HBO crime drama series, Boardwalk Empire. Waterston is next set to appear in the second season of Perry Mason, also on HBO.

This are just some of the major players who appear in the Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore cast, as including every witch, wizard, and muggle would make this list as long (if not longer) as the full collection of all Harry Potter books and subsequent texts combined. 

When Harrison Ford started shooting Raiders of the Lost Ark, the first Indiana Jones movie, in late June of 1980, he was just about to turn 38 years old. Flash-forward to Indiana Jones 5’s principal photography, Ford was 79 years old during most of that period. However, according to Mads Mikkelsen, one of his costars on the upcoming movie, Ford is still a beast at his older age, as evidenced by the crazy workout Mikkelsen saw him do following a night shoot.

Mads Mikkelsen talked a little bit about his experience on Indiana Jones 5 while chatting with THR about his latest movie, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, which sees him taking over the role of Gellert Grindelwald from Johnny Depp. Naturally Mikkelsen wasn’t willing to divulge any details about Indiana Jones 5’s plot, but he did commend Harrison Ford’s physicality when asked how the actor was holding up after it was reported he injured his shoulder on set:

It was reported in late June 2021 that Harrison Ford injured his shoulder while rehearsing a fight scene for Indiana Jones 5, prompting Disney to put out a statement saying that production would continue while “the appropriate course of treatment” was evaluated. However, by the following November, Indiana Jones 5 director James Mangold said that production was still running smoothly, indicating that Ford’s shoulder injury may not have been as big a deal as we were led to believe. Now we have Mads Mikkelsen’s latest comment to absorb, with the Casino Royale actor having seen the “monster” Ford going on a hardcore bike ride after he’d finished an all-night shoot on Indiana Jones 5.

With Harrison Ford on the precipice of becoming an octogenarian, one wouldn’t fault him if he’d wanted to not only call it quits on action roles, but also just take it easy in everyday life. Instead, he’s not slowing down in these advanced years and won’t let any injuries stop him, including when a door fell on his leg during the making of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. With Indiana Jones 5 likely being his last outing as Dr. Henry Jones Jr., it’s good to know Ford’s power was on display both physically and as a performer.

As for Mads Mikkelsen, he was revealed to be joining Indiana Jones 5 back in April 2021. We don’t officially know who he’s playing yet, but rumor has it Mikkelsen’s character is the main villain, a scientist who used to work for the Nazi regime and has been recruited to aid the United States with its moon landing initiative in the 1960s. The Indiana Jones 5 cast also includes Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Thomas Kretschmann, Boyd Holbrook, Shaunette Renée Wilson, Toby Jones, Antonio Banderas and Olivier Richters. As already noted, James Mangold took over directorial duties from Steven Spielberg, as well as worked on the script with Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth.

Indiana Jones 5 arrives in theaters on June 30, 2023. You can also look forward to Harrison Ford taking on his first starring TV role in Apple TV+’s Shrinking, where he’ll play the mentor to Jason Segel’s character.

The Harry Potter brand has been a mainstay in pop culture for decades, and is showing no signs of slowing down. On the big screen, the Harry Potter movies have been expanded thanks to David Yates’ Fantastic Beasts franchise. Actor Mads Mikkelsen recently shared his honest take on how he ended up as Grindelwald after Johnny Depp’s high profile exit.

Shortly after photography for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore began, actor Johnny Depp was asked to step down from his role as antagonist Grindelwald. Actor Mads Mikkelsen was brought in to replace him (resulting in some pushback), and put his own spin on the magical villain. With the threequel just days away from its release, the Rogue One actor explained to GQ what it was like jumping into the role. As he put it,

Honestly, that makes a great deal of sense. The road to Fantastic Beasts 3’s release has been a bumpy one, with the movie delayed over a year as a result of the COVID-19. So when principal photography was finally beginning, losing the movie’s villain had the potential to shut the movie down. Luckily Warner Bros. was able to find a replacement in the form of one Mads Mikkelsen. And critics seem to have responded to his take on Grindelwald. 

Johnny Depp was fired so suddenly from the Fantastic Beasts franchise after he lost his libel case against the U.K. publication The Sun. Depp was suing after a story referred to him as a “wife beater”, and his loss in court immediately resulted in Warner Bros. asking him to step down as Grindelwald. 

Later in that same interview, Mads Mikkelseon explained how he approached the role of Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts 3. Rather than trying to do an impression of Johnny Depp, the 56 year-old actor instead put his own spin on the magical villain. As Mikkelson explained,

Funny enough, Mads Mikkelson is technically the third actor to play Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts franchise. At the end of the first movie it was revealed that Colin Farrel’s Percival Graves was actually Grindelwald in disguise the whole time. Johnny Depp appeared only briefly, before having an expanded role in Fantastic Beasts 2. But Grindelwald 3.0 will appear in The Secret of Dumbledore, with Mikkelsen wielding the Elder Wand.

Luckily for Harry Potter fans, the extended wait for Fantastic Beasts 3 is nearly over. We’re just days away from the movie’s release, and the debut of Mads Mikkelsen’s version of Grindelwald. With two more movies originally planned for the franchise, hopefully we’ll see the actor really dig his heels into the role moving forward.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore will hit theaters on April 15th. In the meantime, check out the 2022 movies release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

Fantastic Beasts 3 otherwise known as The Secrets of Dumbledore is set to hit the 2022 movie release schedule this month. The movie’s making, however, has been mired in setbacks and controversy including COVID delays, Johnny Depp’s exit as Grindelwald and Mads Mikkelsen’s addition as the same character, and backlash toward J.K. Rowling online about her reported transgender insensitivity. Now that press is moving forward for the new Beasts movie, Mikkelsen was asked to share his thoughts on the matter. 

The newcomer in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, recently open up about the upcoming movie, which means he was asked about a variety of topics, both on topic to and tangentially related to the Wizarding World. One of those topics was the ongoing discourse and backlash from some fans online over previous  J.K. Rowling tweets about the transgender community. Mads’ input? He’d rather not open his mouth without feeling like he has all the facts, telling GQ:

Mads Mikkelsen is not the first person related to Fantastic Beasts who has shared thoughts following a series of tweets J.K. Rowling posted back in 2020. Eddie Redmayne commented about respect for transgender people” noting it “remains a cultural imperative.” Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe also said in a longer statement of support for the LGBTQIA+ community that “transgender women are women.” Emma Watson also spoke out about the transgender community, believing those within “deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned.” As celebrities spoke out, there was additional backlash online. 

What Did J.K. Rowling Say Leading To Harry Potter And Fantastic Beasts Fan Backlash? 

The author of such works as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (or Sorcerer’s Stone here on this side of the pond) initially responded to a headline that had the words “People who menstruate” in it to insinuate that a short time ago that headline probably would have read “women.” She then responded to her initial comment, saying on Twitter:

In a separate tweet, the book and screenplay author also said: 

There are a full series of tweets on this topic that Rowling got into in June of 2020 and that can still be found on her social media account. J.K. Rowling then followed these comments up in a separate post about her “reasons for speaking out on sex and gender issues,” which again caused backlash online, with some follow-up tweets criticizing the author racking up thousands of likes. In the time since, Fantastic Beasts has moved on and readied for its big premiere this month, but the controversy has lingered.

Back To Mads Mikkelsen's Casting In Fantastic Beasts 3

In the case of Mads Mikkelsen, it’s worth noting he only came into the Fantastic Beasts franchise long after these events happened. Mikkelsen was signed on by Warner Bros. after the franchise actor lost his famous libel case in the U.K. and Johnny Depp ultimately stepped down from the role of Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. It was months after Rowling’s online opinions were voiced that Mads joined the Fantastic Beasts cast on set for the first time. He’s already having to respond a lot about taking over for Johnny Depp, and it seems like this other point is not something he’s particularly keen to dive into.

Though he did note he, in particular, tries to avoid social media given he “suck[s] at it,”  he also doesn’t want to be a part of polarizing debates, noting:  

What he is keen to talk about is the role of Grindelwald, which he may have inherited, but many believe was a great tradeoff, as reviews about Mads Mikkelsen's performance have been compared to Johnny Depp's, and positively reviewed. Mikkelsen admits that even with two more movies in the Fantastic Beasts franchise planned, he's unsure what the future holds, though he feels they will "need Grindelwald back." This may be good news, as early reviews for The Secrets of Dumbledore have been more positive overall than The Crimes of Grindelwald. 

After delays, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore hits theaters in the U.S. on April 15. 

Johnny Depp holds an important place in the Wizarding World, as his portrayal of Gellert Grindelwald established the character as a true villain in the Fantastic Beasts franchise. When Warner Bros. asked the actor to resign from the role amid abuse allegations and ongoing legal battles with his ex-wife Amber Heard, many saw it as a controversial decision and wondered what would happen to the character who was prominently featured in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. It was announced way back in November 2020 that Mads Mikkelsen would take over as Grindelwald for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, and now we’re finally getting an idea of what to expect.

Critics screened Fantastic Beasts 3 ahead of its April 15 theatrical release, and while overall reviews of the film were mixed, the critics certainly had opinions on how the Hannibal actor compared to Johnny Depp. So what did they have to say?

Many seemed to like Mads Mikkelsen in the role, with Robbie Cullen of The Telegraph even saying Mikkelsen “should have been cast from the start.” Kirsten Acuna of Insider agrees, saying he is such a natural in the role that it’s easy to forget Johnny Depp was part of the series:

Fans of the franchise, who have only had the benefit of seeing Mads Mikkelsen’s Grindelwald in the trailer, expressed concern early on that the actor would merely mimic the performance given by Johnny Depp. Mikkelsen took issue with that sentiment, however, saying that to copy Depp’s character would be “creative suicide.” I don’t think imitation is a concern any longer. Peter Debruge of Variety says Mikkelsen’s character is “more grounded, less cartoonishly menacing.” USA TODAY’s Brian Truitt, meanwhile, calls the new Grindelwald a “deliciously sinister delight”: 

Undoubtedly there will be fans — whether of the Harry Potter/Fantastic Beasts franchise or of Johnny Depp himself — who prefer the original interpretation of the character. Stephanie Bunbury of Deadline seems to appreciate Mads Mikkelsen’s “malevolent but charismatic” take, but thinks perhaps Johnny Depp’s approach — played “with extravagant menace, so that every word he uttered seemed to come from the bowels of the Earth” — was more appropriate for this particular series:

That critic isn’t the only one blaming any negative opinions about the new Grindelwald on the production, rather than the actor. Ethan Anderton of SlashFilm says Mads Mikkelsen’s version of the character might be the most disappointing part of the film, “not because Mikkelsen's performance isn't good, but rather because the script doesn't give him much to do”:

Fans of the Harry Potter franchise have waited a long time for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, and will certainly have their own opinions about how the new portrayal of Gellert Grindelwald stacks up against the previous one. If you’d like to check it out for yourself, the movie hits theaters on Friday, April 15. Be sure to also take a look at our 2022 Movie Release Schedule to see what else is coming soon to theaters.

The saga of the Wizarding World continues! Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore — the third installment of the Harry Potter prequel series — is set to premiere in theaters on April 15. The film stars Jude Law as Albus Dumbledore, Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander, Ezra Miller as Credence Barebone, and Mads Mikkelsen as Gellert Grindelwald. Critics have had the opportunity to screen the franchise’s newest film, and their reviews are in.

Taking place several years after the events of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Fantastic Beasts 3 will show Albus Dumbledore tasking Newt Scamander with a mission that will lead him and his allies into the heart of dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald's army. So, what did critics think about Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore? Will our questions about the great wizard be answered? Let’s take a look, starting with the CinemaBlend review. Our own Mike Reyes rates the film 3.5 stars out of 5, calling it the "best prequel yet" and saying this might be the one that gets the Wizarding World back on track:

Siddhant Adlakha of IGN, however, has the opposite takeaway, rating The Secrets of Dumbledore a "Bad" 4 out of 10 and calling the third movie an un-fantastical Potter prequel with uninteresting secrets. Though two more Fantastic Beast movies are planned, this review argues the series should mercifully be ended here:

Lovia Gyarkye of THR falls somewhere in the middle, saying that while this movie is more focused and more whimsical than its predecessors, it's no less disappointing. Behind-the-scenes drama involving Ezra Miller, as well as J.K. Rowling's views, make it hard for this critic to remain enchanted with the series:

Stephanie Bunbury of Deadline says there are a number of competing protagonists, some potentially meaty themes and, yes, fantastic beasts, but of everything that's happening in the Harry Potter prequel, not much of it makes sense:

Peter Debruge of Variety commends the way J.K. Rowling envisions her story over multiple movies, planting things that will almost certainly pay off in a movie yet to come. However, the plots continue to be overly complicated, serving only to confuse audiences, he says:

Kate Erbland of IndieWire grades Fantastic Beasts 3 a C, saying the film struggles to balance the magical whimsy with its adult themes. This results in feelings of discomfort even during the most magical moments:

The critics may not agree, but we know fans of the franchise are excited to check the newest movie out, and the wait is almost over. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore will arrive in theaters Friday, April 15. Be sure to check out our 2022 Movie Release Schedule to see what other films are coming soon.

Considering how Christopher Nolan’s goal with his live-action Batman movies was to bring Batman into the real world, it was always safe to assume we would never see Mr. Freeze face off against Christian Bale. However, as Matt Reeves’ approach appears to be making Batman’s world real, it does not seem like too much of a stretch that we could see the chilling foe face off against Robert Pattinson.

The director of The Batman has even said that he sees potential for the tragic villain - whose real name is Dr. Victor Fries - to have a place in his grounded, new vision for the Dark Knight. If Mr. Freeze’s return to the big screen for the first time since Arnold Schwarzenegger’s very campy and punny portrayal in Batman & Robin is destined to happen under Matt Reeves’ watch, I have a few idea of who might be a perfect choice to bring the role to life, staring with someone well-versed in playing tragic figures already.

Bryan Cranston

Like many of the best faces in Batman’s rogues gallery, Mr. Freeze is a villain by circumstance - driven to crime in order to find a cure for his ailing wife, whom he has put under cryogenic slumber with the same chemicals that accidentally turn him, literally, cold-blooded. Another iconic example of a character whose desperate commitment to his family led him down a path of destruction is Walter White, played brilliantly in the Breaking Bad cast by four-time Emmy winner Bryan Cranston - who might also be good as a Marvel villain some day. If there is one person best equipped to portray Freeze’s tragic evolution, it has to be him.

Giancarlo Esposito

Bryan Cranston is not the only former Breaking Bad cast member to cross my mind when considering who could be the next Mr. Freeze. Ever since Giancarlo Esposito played drug lord Gus Fring on the hit drama and later on its prequel spin-off, Better Call Saul, he has become a reliable go-to for playing TV bad guys, from Moff Gideon on The Mandalorian to Vought CEO Stan Edgar on The Boys. I think it’s time his knack for portraying villainy gets the big screen treatment, and his potentially frightening Freeze he would be the perfect entry point.

Mads Mikkelsen

An actor known for frightening audiences on both the small screen (such as in the Hannibal cast in the title role) and the big screen (including as Kaecilius in Doctor Strange or the new Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore) is Mads Mikkelsen. However, in his lighter roles - like in the Oscar-winning dramedy Another Round - the Danish actor has shown he can effortlessly tap into an audience’s fuzzier side and earn its sympathy. Channeling both sides of his acting range would be key to pulling off Mr. Freeze, making him an excellent choice.

Christoph Waltz

We have also seen Christoph Waltz play both honorable and unscrupulous characters, and to Academy Award-winning glory (each time in a Quentin Tarantino movie, too). However, between the charming bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz in Django Unchained and the dastardly Col. Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds, I think the latter remains his defining role and Tarantino’s favorite of the characters he has written. I think it also provides a glimpse at what a more cunning and calculating Mr. Freeze could look like, and that is an interpretation I would kill to see.

Ben Mendelsohn

You may remember all of Ben Mendelsohn’s great, antagonistic performances in Star Wars: Rogue One or Captain Marvel (which turned out to be a misdirect, of course) or his Emmy-winning role on Netflix’s Bloodline. What you might not remember is that he also played a bad guy in The Dark Knight Rises - namely a construction company owner who attempted to assume control of Wayne Enterprises with the help of Bane (Tom Hardy). I think it would be fun to see the Aussie return to Gotham City as a more prominent villain, and with his penchant for playing blood-curdling bad guys, nailing Mr. Freeze, for him, would be a breeze.

Benicio Del Toro

Another veteran of both the Star Wars movies (as DJ) and the Marvel movies (as The Collector) is Benicio Del Toro, who brought a distinct eccentricity to each of his standout roles in those respective franchises. Eccentricity is not a word often associated with Mr. Freeze, who has typically been portrayed as over-the-top silly (such as on the 1960s Batman TV series) or stone cold serious (most famously in some of the best Batman: The Animated Series episodes as voiced by Michael Ansara). I am curious to see an iteration that finds that sweet spot in the middle and the Academy Award winner might be able to make that work really well in Matt Reeves’ Batman universe.

Michael Fassbender

Another actor you may remember from the Marvel movies (just not of the MCU continuity), but may have forgotten was also in a DC adaptation, is Michael Fassbender. The German-born, English-raised actor’s villainous roles from each are entirely different, with the X-Men movies’ Magneto being very sophisticated and driven by a morally questionable sense of righteousness, and Burke from the 2010’s misbegotten western Jonah Hex being a sadistic freak. The former of those character traits is already essential when portraying Mr. Freeze, while the latter could be an interesting one for the Academy Award nominee to also experiment with for a new interpretation. 

Mark Strong

I will admit that this choice is almost a little too easy since Mark Strong already has extensive experience with comic book movie roles. In fact, two of them are notable DC villains - namely Sinestro (before going bad, that is) in 2011’s Green Lantern and Dr. Sivana in Shazam! from 2019. However, that and his physical appearance alone (I mean, does he not look exactly like Mr. Freeze from Batman: The Animated Series brought to life?) are enough for me to consider him as a fantastic choice for the role.

The mere idea of any of these tour de force actors cast as Mr. Freeze makes me even more excited and hopeful for his big screen return. If he is destined to be one of the potential villains in the sequel to The Batman, I cannot wait to see what ideas Matt Reeves has in mind.

When the world was last given a glimpse into Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, it was through a trailer that promised wizarding war, among other things. A lot of familiar locations, faces, and concepts from the overall Wizarding World found themselves popping up in the film’s first look. Now, with a second trailer freshly released, you can see way more Mads Mikkelsen's take on Grindelwald. Plus, the return of McGonagall!

As the promotional motors warm up for the April release of the third prequel to the Harry Potter series, it looks like The Secrets of Dumbledore is going to be one of the most action-packed installments in the burgeoning franchise. That's the perfect time to bring back another old friend of Jude Law’s Dumbledore, through the appearance of Professor Minerva McGonagall. You can see Fiona Glascott once again portraying the version of the character contemporary to Law’s incarnation in the screenshot below, as she shows up to deliver what must be grave news to Albus' open ears:

We’re not just being shown gloom and doom in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. The previous trailer introduced us all to the concept of everyone's favorite Muggle, Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler), getting in on the action with his own wand! Now that we’ve seen Jacob actually wielding magical powers, it does look like he’s got some work to do on his spellcraft. Though if we were to guess, the moment where Jacob giggles after having a cocktail may explain just where these newfound powers come from. So maybe Jacob won’t have to practice too much. 

Indeed, the Fantastic Beasts saga looks to not only keep itself valid in the eyes of Potter purists, it’s also looking to make up for what some have deemed a lackluster sequel. Although the Secrets of Dumbledore subtitle does keep the large choices made at the end of the previous entry firmly in focus. With Ezra Miller’s Credence Barebones/Aurelius Dumbledore and Richard Coyle confirmed to indeed be playing Aberforth Dumbledore, the fate of magic just might rest on a family feud.

As always, we can thank the trials and tribulations of the Wizarding World to Mads Mikkelsen's Grindelwald, who we get a much better look at in this new footage. Charismatic and dangerous as ever, you can see why people would flock to his cause; even if you know what he's doing is absolutely wrong. We should definitely know that fact, considering that previous film's title kind of spelled it out.

Between seeing Mikkelsen in action, as well as looking at him on the film's new poster, it's hard not to think that maybe he should have been cast in this role in the first place. Warning fans that his portrayal wouldn't be a mere copy of Johnny Depp's take, that promise has been fulfilled and then some. Take a look at the new one-sheet for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, and try to argue that Mads Mikkelsen, or anyone in this impressive cast, looks out of place:  

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore apparates into a theater near you on April 15th. Whether you believe in magic or not, there’s a wide array of movies slated to debut as part of the 2022 movie releases in the year to come. Though it does not do to dwell on the past, thinking towards the future is a rather wondrous thing to indulge in. If the past is what you want, at the time of this writing you can catch all of the Harry Potter movies, including both previous Fantastic Beasts entries, on HBO Max.

Although a lot of familiar characters are returning next year in Fantastic Beasts 3, a.k.a. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, one of them won’t look the same as when we last saw him. Following his time on Gellert Grindelwald in the first two Fantastic Beasts movies, Johnny Depp exited the role, and weeks later, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’s Mads Mikkelsen was selected to take over as the Fantastic Beasts film series’ main antagonist. Now we finally have our first glimpse at Mikkelsen in character as Grindelwald.

In a new video from Warner Bros. highlighting the Wizarding World franchise and its fans, some new footage from Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is tacked on at the end to tease the first trailer for the threequel premiering next Monday. This includes a quick look Mads Mikkelsen’s Gellert Grindelwald:

As you can see, Mads Mikkelsen’s Gellert Grindelwald is standing in a triumphant pose while surrounding by a crowd cheering him on. It’s unclear exactly what they’re celebrating, as well as if all these people are his followers or simply fans of Mr. G. In any case, it’s nice to finally know what Mikkelsen looks like playing Grindelwald a little over a year after it was announced he was joining the Fantastic Beasts franchise.

Mads Mikkelsen is the fifth actor to play Gellert Grindelwald in the Wizarding World franchise. Jamie Campbell Bower and Michael Byrne respectively played the young and older version of the dark wizard in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1, and for the majority of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Colin Farrell appeared as the character disguised as Auror Percival Graves. The plan was for Johnny Depp to reprise Grindelwald in his natural form for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, and he even shot a day’s worth of scenes. But after Depp lost his defamation lawsuit, Warner Bros. requested he resign from the role, and the actor obliged.

When we last left off with Gellert Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, he’d amassed a large following to help him in his quest to have pureblood wizards ruling the world, with Alison Sudol’s Queenie Goldstein and Ezra Miller’s Credence Barebone (who Grindelwald claims is actually Aurelius Dumbledore) joining his ranks. In the 1930s-set Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, Grindelwald’s army and power continue to grow, and with World War II approaching, Eddie Redmayne’s Newt Scamander and his allies will clash with Grindelwald’s followers while on a mission assigned by Jude Law’s Albus Dumbledore.

Mads Mikkelsen said back in May that he will not “copy” Johnny Depp’s Gellert Grindelwald performance, so it’ll be interesting to see how his take on the character is different from what his predecessor did. Ideally we’ll get our first taste of that in the first Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore trailer next week. The movie itself will work its magic in domestic theaters on April 15, 2022.

While we wait for more news about the third entry in the Fantastic Beasts film series, check out our 2022 release schedule to see what other movies will arrive next year. And for the Harry Potter fans out there, an HBO Max special titled Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts will premiere on January 1, 2022.

Indiana Jones 5, which is set to close the book on the iconic film series, is currently in production ahead of its 2022 release. Filming originally kicked off this past June, and the cast and crew have apparently been hard at work since then. Unfortunately, the project did experience a setback when lead actor Harrison Ford injured himself a few weeks into the shoot. But now, it appears the beloved star is back on the set and mixing it up with one of the film’s other big actors.

The 79-year-old Harrison Ford sustained a shoulder injury in late June while rehearsing a fight scene. At the time, Disney released a statement confirming the situation and noting that production would continue with schedule changes applied as needed. Indiana Jones 5 is currently shooting in Sicily, which is where Daily Mail captured snapshots of Ford back in action. The images not only show him back to work but also in his iconic leather jacket. 

The man behind Dr. Henry Jones (Jr.) was joined by another on the set. The news site also captured a few pics of Mads Mikkelsen, who was seen riding the back of a golf cart, presumably on his way to shoot a scene. The 55-year-old star was sporting a smooth grey suit and was seen holding a panama hat that likely completes the look. Although Mikkelsen’s character has yet to be revealed, his attire would suggest that he could be playing a villain of sorts. It would be a perfect fit, especially when you consider the notable big-screen antagonists he has portrayed (or will play).

Based on the photos, it would seem that Harrison Ford is doing well following his months-long break from shooting. The seasoned performer has experienced his fair share of on-set injuries over the years but, seeing as he’s approaching 80, many fans were concerned. Shortly after the incident, updates seemed to indicate that the injury was more serious than originally reported. Though Ford was later seen out and about, with a sling, just a few weeks later.

Director James Mangold and his team seem to be taking the necessary precautions to keep him safe, though. This even includes going to some wild lengths to get the actor’s stunts done. So fans needn’t worry themselves too much about his well-being.

Believe it or not, the Star Wars alum’s injury wasn’t the first time Indiana Jones 5 made headlines during its shoot. The production previously caused a stir when it was filming in East London, thanks to a homeowner renting out his place for filming. His neighbors didn’t take too kindly to this move, though, as the presence of the large crew and vehicles apparently made it difficult for residents to get in and out of their narrow street. 

Plot details on the highly-anticipated movie are scarce at this point. At the very least, set photos appear to hint at flashbacks featuring a young Indy, who may be facing off with the Nazis again. What we do know for sure is that Disney and Lucasfilm have assembled a strong cast. Joining Harrison Ford and Mads Mikkelsen are Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, Thomas Kretschmann, Boyd Holbrook and Toby Jones.  

Hopefully, it won’t be too long before we get some official updates on the film. It’s still, however, just great to know that its lead is back and apparently doing well. The star still has plenty of fight in him, and he’s sure to send off his famed adventurer with a bang. 

Indiana Jones 5 is set to hit theaters on July 29, 2022.

Ever since Robin Williams was cast as the voice of the Genie in Aladdin, it's become standard operating procedure for major animated films to cast big name actors in important voice roles, rather than the professional voice actors that was the standard previously. Thanks to Williams, we have the likes of Tom Hanks in the Toy Story films and Dwayne Johnson voicing Maui in Moana, but it turns out that it's not just in English that some major names you know voiced characters in popular Disney and Pixar films.

In many cases, this work was done "before they were stars," as it were. In other cases, we see celebrity cameos pop for small roles in nations where the cameo will mean a little something more than it might in the USA. And sometimes it seems the role was given celebrity casting in other nations for the same reason it was done here: because adding a star can help attract the audience. Here are 10 times that celebrities voices Disney and Pixar characters in other languages.

Mads Mikkelsen - Chick Hicks and Randall Boggs (Danish)

Mads Mikkelsen had been working in his native Denmark for several years before he came to prominence in Hollywood as the villain in 2006's Casino Royale, but the same year he was a James Bond villain, he was also the antagonist for Lightning McQueen, as Mikkelsen voiced Chick Hicks in the Danish version of Cars. However, that wasn't even Mikkelsen's fist gig with Pixar, as the actor was also the voice of another animated bad guy a few years prior, when he voiced Randall Boggs in Monsters Inc. Apparently even back then Mikkelsen was especially good at playing the bad guy. Mads Mikkelsen did reprise the role of Chick Hicks for Cars 3, which Michael Keaton did not do in English (Bob Peterson performed the role in that language instead).

Jean Reno - Mufasa (French)

Of all the celebrity voices who have appeared in Disney movies throughout the years, one of the most iconic has to be James Earl Jones' performance as Mufasa in The Lion King. Any other actor was going to have big shoes to fill when trying to follow that. However, in France, they found a very fitting choice in The Professional himself, Jean Reno. The French clearly loved Reno's performance as Mufasa just as much as we loved James Earl Jones, because like Jones, when it came time to voice the character of Mufasa for the Lion King remake, Jean Reno returned to do to the job again.

Daniel Brühl - Lightning McQueen (German)

Most people know Daniel Brühl as Zemo in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and while American audiences could have been introduced to the actor earlier in his career, back in 2006, he was still very much working in his native Germany. It was here where he was tapped to provide the voice for Lightning McQueen in the German dub of Cars. So in English, Lightning sounds like Owen Wilson, but in German, he sounds like Daniel Bruhl. Who got the better Lightning? Unfortunately the German dub of Cars is not currently available on Disney+ in the U.S., so we can't be quite sure right now.

Ricky Martin - Hercules (Spanish - Latin America)

When 1997's Hercules came out, the voice actor playing the title role likely wouldn't have raised many eyebrows in the English-speaking world, as Ricky Martin was still two years away from his first English language pop hit. But in Latin America, he was already a pretty big star, so getting chosen to voice Hercules in Spanish was probably a pretty big deal to that audience. Also, since Martin could actually sing, it means there's a Ricky Martin version of the underrated Disney song "Go the Distance," in case the English language Michael Bolton version doesn't do it for you.

Sophia Loren - Mama Topolino (Italian)

Sometimes when a big name star is brought in to voice an animated character, it's for one of the key roles. But sometimes you'll see, or in this case hear, a major celebrity show up in little cameo roles, where you might not even realize the voice you're getting is somebody super famous. This was done in Cars 2 when six-time Oscar nominee Vanessa Redgrave played the small role of Mama Topolino in English. However, it was also done in Italian, as for that dub of the film, the character was voiced by another Oscar winner, the great Sophia Loren.

Max Von Sydow - Zeus (Swedish)

It was just last year that the world lost a great talent in the incomparable Max Von Sydow. The two-time Academy Award nominee will probably be known, first and foremost, either for his role as Ming in Flash Gordon or as Father Merrin in The Exorcist. He put together an incredible filmography over his career, but one role that most likely don't know about was that he voiced Hercules' father Zeus, or at least he did if you heard the audio track in Swedish. Considering that the role was played by Rip Torn in English, who was a very different sort of actor, I can only imagine how this changed the character.

Giancarlo Giannini - Carl Friedriksson (Italian)

Ok, so Giancarlo Giannini maybe isn't a household name that every movie fan is going to recognize. However, anybody who has seen the Daniel Craig-era James Bond movies, especially Casino Royale, will recognize him in the role of René Mathis. However, Italian audiences know his voice quite well, as Giannini built a strong career dubbing American movies for Italian audiences. He's the Italian Jack Nicholson, as he dubbed for the actor in both The Shining and Batman. But he's also the Italian Carl Fredrickson, as he performed the voice of the lead in Pixar's Up for Italian audiences.

Demián Bichir - Aladdin (Spanish - Latin America)

Fans probably most recently saw Demián Bichir on the big screen (or on HBO Max) in Godzilla vs. Kong, or they remember him from recent films like Alien: Covenant or The Hateful Eight. However, before he was making his mark on Hollywood, he was part of Disney Character Voices International, the side of the company responsible for dubbing movies. Through this system, many of the same voice actors ended up voicing many different Disney characters over a period of years. Demián Bichir was the voice of both Prince Eric and Chef Louis in The Little Mermaid, but his biggest Disney voice role was when he created the Spanish language lead in Aladdin.

Catherine Deneuve - Abigail Hardscrabble (French)

As with Vanessa Redgrave and Sofia Loren before them, another pair of grand dames of cinema tag-teamed across an ocean to bring a character to life for a Pixar sequel in Monsters University. The voice of Dean Abigail Hardscrabble was performed by Helen Mirren for the English language version of the film, but in France, the role was given to the great Catherine Deneuve.

Omar Sy - Joe Gardner (French)

Omar Sy is one of the youngest names on this list, but the actor is well on his way to putting together a filmography to rival everybody else here. Following getting noticed in The Intouchables, Omar Sy appeared as Bishop in X-Men: Days of Future Past and as the voice of Hot Rod in Transformers: The Last Knight. He'll be seen next year in Jurassic World: Dominion, but he was very recently heard in Pixar's Soul, if you listen in French, as he voiced the role of lead character Joe Gardner in France. This wasn't his first Disney voice acting experience though, as he also voiced one of the rams in Brother Bear and a couple of different animals in Bolt.

English is certainly seen as the definitive performance when it comes to Disney or Pixar voice acting, but we're not the only ones that get major celebrities to voice characters. Unfortunately, while some of these audio dubs are available on Disney+, others are not, so we can't actually hear what these performances sound like, but maybe they'll get added at some point down the road, because who doesn't want to hear Mads Mikkelsen in Monsters Inc?

The next Fantastic Beasts movie has been dealing with more than its share of ups and downs, and most of them have nothing to do with the pandemic, though that certainly had an impact as well. The much bigger change came when it was announced that Johnny Depp was asked to exit his role as the franchise villain, Grindelwald, which was followed shortly thereafter by the news that part was being taken up by Mads Mikkelsen. The decision to replace Depp was certainly a talking point, and Mikkelsen is now in the middle of all that by virtue of taking the part, and the actor has now shared his view on taking the "controversial" role.

Speaking with The Times in the UK, Mads Mikkelsen accepts that his decision to take the part being vacated by Johnny Depp may have been a controversial decision, but he says the drama surrounding Depp's departure had no impact on making the choice. He was simply offered a role in a movie he thought looked good and so he took it. According to Mikkelsen...

The announcement that Johnny Depp was leaving Fantastic Beasts 3 came shortly after a jury in the U.K. did not take his side in a libel case against a newspaper that had referred to the actor in its pages as a "wife-beater." Following that decision Warner Bros. asked Depp to step down from the role, and he agreed to do so.

With the circumstances being what they were, and the fact being that Johnny Depp still enjoys a great deal of public support, it wouldn't have been that surprising if the producers had had difficulty filling the hole in the cast, but Mads Mikkelsen came on board relatively quickly. For his part, the Casino Royale actor says that he doesn't have an opinion on Depp or the circumstances surrounding his departure. He simply saw a movie with a part that was available, that was going to go forward with or without him, and so he took the part. Mikkelsen continues...

This certainly isn't the first time that we've seen an actor take a role after outside forces pushes a movie to go in another direction. In more than one case we've seen an actor's entire performance reshot to take them out of the film. In this case, it seems that Johnny Depp only filmed a single scene before moving on.

In the end, Mads Mikkelsen clearly sees this as nothing more than a movie role he was interested in. While his performance will certainly be compared to Johnny Depp's when this movie is released, nobody has ever claimed Mikkelsen isn't a great actor, and an especially great villain. He took the role for its own sake. We'll see if the fans judge him in the same way.

Mads Mikkelsen, a man who is constantly cast as the villain, has been a part of some major franchises and continues to add to that list now that he is replacing Johnny Depp in Fantastic Beasts 3 and has been cast in Indiana Jones 5. Mikkelsen is also fresh off the success of his film Another Round, which was nominated for multiple awards and won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. Of course, the success of a foreign movie means American studios could try to remake it and, shortly after the Oscars, it was reported that a Leonardo DiCaprio-led Another Round remake is in the works. Now, Mikkelsen has shared some thoughts on the upcoming film.

It seems there's always a push to remake successful international films for American audiences and, when this happens, the results can usually vary by movie. When sharing his thoughts on the Another Round remake with Entertainment Weekly, Mads Mikkelsen was diplomatic, saying:

Mads Mikkelsen recognizes the tricky nature of making a remake, but he definitely understands why they're made. Mikkelsen also says Another Round was not a huge movie, despite the fact that it was a major player during this past awards season. Still, he does think a lot of Americans have seen Another Round, so that could possibly bode well for the Leonardo DiCaprio-led remake.

Mads Mikkelsen goes on to talk about the cultural differences between America and Denmark when it comes to alcohol. With this, he thinks there's a possibility the American remake will approach the film’s subject matter differently from the original. Ultimately, Mikkelsen believes that if the remake embraces the theme of enjoying life and self-discovery, it might turn out well.

Another Round is the story of four high school teachers in Denmark (led by Mads Mikkelsen's Martin), who decide to consume gradually increasing amounts of alcohol on a daily basis to see how it affects their social and professional lives. The film is a funny and emotional look at middle age and how life can pass you by. It also drives home the point that it’s not too late to enjoy your life and recapture the things that make you truly happy. If the American remake can capture the essence of the original without the standard moralizing of American films involving vices, it might measure up to the original.

Another Round was a strong showcase of Mads Mikkelsen's talents and, hopefully, fans will get a chance to see the actor take on similar projects. And while Leonardo DiCaprio is certainly a capable actor, he'll have a tough act to follow when he headlines the remake.

The mysterious Fantastic Beasts sequel is coming our way eventually, with Eddie Redmayne set to reprise his role as Newt Scamander alongside much of the cast we fell in love with in the two previous Harry Potter spinoff films. And on the dark side so to say is Gellert Grindelwald, who Mads Mikkelsen is taking on after Johnny Depp’s dramatic exit from the franchise. And apparently he’ll go head-to-head with our favorite creature-loving Hufflepuff.

Yes, we’ve now heard that Newt and Grindelwald will be engaged in epic battle sequences against one another. When USA Today recently spoke to Mads Mikkelsen about his work on Fantastic Beasts 3, it was reported that the Doctor Strange actor was engaged in work for “three weeks straight” due to an on-screen battle with Eddie Redmayne for the movie’s conclusion.

This is the Wizarding World after all, so that probably means a lot of long hours of wand-waving choreography and reciting magical spells for the two talented actors. Nonetheless, this is super exciting because we still have virtually no idea what to expect from the third Fantastic Beasts movie almost a year before its release – except for the fact that it’s been delayed multiple times (even pre-pandemic) and made a huge recasting move regarding its main villain.

It’s also optimistic news because Eddie Redmayne’s Newt Scamander seemed to be somewhat sidelined after the first movie due to a slew of other characters being introduced into the franchise, including Jude Law’s younger iteration of Dumbledore. 2018’s Crimes of Grindelwald introduced some more complications, including complicated family ties for Ezra Miller’s Credence and fan-favorite Queenie picking the side of Grindelwald.

There are a lot of loose ends for the third movie to tie up, and the film definitely needs to step some things up following some mixed to negative reviews for the 2018 sequel. However, a major battle sequence between Newt and Grindelwald is a good start.

Mads Mikkelsen replaced Johnny Depp in the role after the actor’s legal situation with ex-wife Amber Heard led to Warner Bros asking him to step down from the franchise. Mikkelsen has already spoken about taking on the role, sharing that he’ll need to create some bridges between Depp and his performances, but he most certainly isn’t planning to copy what the Pirates of the Caribbean actor did with the role. After Fantastic Beasts, Mikkelsen is joining Indiana Jones 5 to play another high-profile role.

Fantastic Beasts 3 is set to be released on July 15, 2022 and is expected to be one of five Harry Potter spinoff films in the prequel franchise. Stick with us here on CinemaBlend for more updates about what else is going on in the Wizarding World.

The Fantastic Beasts franchise has had a few bumps in the road, and it seems that the biggest has been replacing Johnny Depp as Gellert Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts 3 after the actor’s legal battle. Mads Mikkelsen, who has played plenty of villains, has been tasked with replacing Depp and has already compared his take on Grindelwald to Johnny Depp’s. But Mikkelsen has some strong thoughts about people thinking he’ll "copy" Johnny Depp’s version of the character.

Johnny Depp certainly left a mark on the Fantastic Beasts franchise with his portrayal of Gellert Grindelwald and, for better or worse, he established the character as a true villain for the series. Mads Mikkelsen hasn't avoided addressing concerns regarding his upcoming portrayal, and he recently dismissed these claims while explaining his process to Collider, saying:

Mads Mikkelsen says that if he were to go into Fantastic Beasts 3 merely trying to copy Johnny Depp, it would turn out badly for everyone involved. He recognizes the job done by Depp before him while also seeing that copying him wouldn’t do his performance or the film any justice. Approaching the character from his own perspective is a priority.

More specifically, Mads Mikkelsen wants to bridge the two performances to get the best out of the role. The actor obviously doesn’t want to throw everything away that has been established by Depp and the movies. He wants to use everything that came before but make it his own. All in all, it seems Mikkelsen is taking a practical and considerate approach to replacing a big-name actor like Johnny Depp.

No matter how Fantastic Beasts 3 turns out, Mads Mikkelsen is an actor who seems like he gives his all in his performances, which is probably why he is so in demand. The approach he's taking is a good sign as the franchise moves on from Johnny Depp.

Aside from the Wizarding World franchise, Mads Mikkelsen also has Indiana Jones 5 on the horizon, and he has finally responded to being cast. The role only adds to the growing list of franchises he's involved with. Recently, he's also been receiving rave reviews for his performance in the Oscar-winning Another Round and is assuredly going to continue his winning streak. Mikkelsen has a challenging task ahead, as he steps into the role of Grindelwald, but if anyone is built for this situation, it’s him.

Fantastic Beasts 3 hits theaters on July 15, 2022.

After years of setbacks and delays, Indiana Jones 5 is finally on a steady path to production. In the last month alone, we’ve learned who some of Harrison Ford’s co-stars will be on his latest romp as the whip-wielding, fedora-wearing archaeologist, with Casino Royale’s Mads Mikkelsen being part of this lineup. Now Mikkelsen has commented on his involvement in Indiana Jones 5, and he’s jazzed about taking part in this franchise.

It certainly helps that Mads Mikkelsen was already a fan of the Indiana Jones movies before signing onto Indiana Jones 5, so much so that he recently revisited the movie that started it all. As the actor told Collider when asked what his reaction was to being approached for Indiana Jones 5:

Major franchises nowadays value keeping as many key plot details under wraps for as long as possible, even keeping things secret from the talent involved (just ask the people who work for Marvel). So the fact that Mads Mikkelsen was able to read the script ahead of time is notable indeed, and now the actor gets to contribute to a franchise that he enjoyed growing up. And hey, rewatching Raiders of the Lost Ark is a solid way to get into the Indiana Jones 5 mindset, though I hope he goes the full distance and also revisits Temple of Doom, Last Crusade and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Of course, this is just the latest franchise Mads Mikkelsen has added to his resume. Along with the aforementioned Casino Royale, which rebooted the James Bond film series in 2006, Mikkelsen has also starred in Doctor Strange and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and we’ll see him next year taking over the role of Gellert Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts 3. Mikkelsen has also recently appeared in movies like Another Round, Riders of Justice and Chaos Walking.

Mads Mikkelsen was the second new actor to be revealed for Indiana Jones 5, with Fleabag’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge preceding him and fellow MCU actor Thomas Kretschmann being announced the following week. There’s no word yet on who any of these actors are playing yet, and while Mikkelsen is certainly well known for playing villains, perhaps he was recruited into Indiana Jones 5 to be a good guy. Since the movie won’t come out for another two years, it may be a while before his character is identified.

Indiana Jones 5, which arrives on July 29, 2022, will be the first Indiana Jones movie not to be directed by Steven Spielberg, although he’s still attached as an executive producer. Instead, Logan’s James Mangold will helm Indiana Jones 5, and back in January, the filmmaker may have indicated that the movie will be set in late 1960s New York City. Should that be confirmed, or if any other major Indiana Jones 5 news trickles in, we’ll let you know.

It’s always kind of a bummer when a franchise has to recast, especially if it’s a sudden change. Where Grindelwald of the Fantastic Beasts franchise is concerned, though, the loss of Johnny Depp is softened just a little by the casting of the fantastic Mads Mikkelsen as his replacement. The actor has a unique fan base of his very own from the many franchises he has been a part of, and it won’t be too long until we can see how Mikkelsen’s version of Grindelwald stacks up to the one we know from Depp. But Mikkelsen just compared his version to Depp’s and gives us a little sneak peek of what we can expect to see.

Although Mads Mikkelsen has already spoken on the difficulties of replacing Johnny Depp on screen, he is no stranger to taking over another iconic actor’s equally recognizable role. Mikkelsen portrayed the brutal Hannibal Lector on NBC’s Hannibal after Anthony Hopkins had the role in the famous horror films and, in an interview with Games Radar he speaks on how making a known character his own is different on Fantastic Beasts and how he is respecting Depp’s version of the character as well. Here is what Mikkelsen had to say, in his own words:

It sounds like we can expect Mads Mikkelsen to go in a little bit of a different direction than Johnny Depp did with the Grindelwald character, but that may not be a bad thing. One of the clingiest things a franchise can do when they recast is act like they are pulling the wool over our eyes by trying to make the new version of a character exactly the same as the old one.

It would be foolish to think that someone can do Johnny Depp just as good as Johnny Depp can, and you can very much see some of the actor’s personality and mannerisms in each role he takes on. No, Mads Mikkelsen is a smart man, and he’s not trying to recreate exactly what Depp did in the previous Fantastic Beast films. He knows that, as actors, they both have different styles and bring different things to the Wizarding World table.

Hearing that Mads Mikkelsen intends to respect Johnny Depp’s version of Grindelwald while also creating his own has honestly gotten me pretty excited for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 3. While the film had some major setbacks before it could resume filming, it looks like Mikkelsen has also confirmed that they have wrapped up filming ahead of its release on July 15, 2022 and this muggle (or No-Maj) can’t wait until it hits theaters.

Mads Mikkelsen has been riding pretty high lately when it comes to his acting career. Over time, the Danish actor has made fans through prime TV gigs like Hannibal, as well as landed key roles in franchise entries like Indiana Jones 5 and Fantastic Beasts 3. But of course, worldwide audiences were most keenly put onto the trail of his talents when he won the role of Le Chiffre in 2006’s James Bond reboot, Casino Royale. However, that may not have happened if that time he left his script for the film on a plane turned out a little differently.

Even in the beginning of the 007 reboot, the fact that a script for Casino Royale was even circulating in the wild is something that could have been major. And as he told Vulture the story, Mads Mikkelsen admitted that he totally panicked over this happening. But as you’ll see in the story below, the man got the job done, and made sure to secure himself for his audition:

Believe it or not, before his big role in Casino Royale, Mads Mikkelsen’s career was still a pretty interesting beast to follow. Working on films such as Antoine Fuqua’s King Arthur, as well as being a part of Nicolas Winding-Refn’s Pusher trilogy, it was only a matter of time before audiences recognized the man for the talent that he was. Though, that phase in his career did also land him some amazing voice gigs, as Mikkelsen was the Danish dub voice of Randall Boggs and Chick Hicks, for Pixar’s Monsters Inc. and Cars, respectively.

It may have been enough for Mads Mikkelsen to land the role of the first villain to ever square off with James Bond. Casino Royale wasn’t just the cinematic reboot for 007, it was also the book that kicked off Ian Fleming’s super spy back in 1953. So obviously, to have the right villain meant to increase the odds of success for new and untested Bond, Daniel Craig. The pressure was on to get things right with this film, and every character would count.

That high stakes scenario is why another quote that Mads Mikkelsen gave about how he landed Le Chiffre is all the funnier. As he was reunited with Daniel Craig for a Variety interview, a particularly stressful day in Casino Royale’s casting process was recounted by Mikkelsen. As he described the chaotic energy filling the room, he also mentioned how a fateful smoke break landed him the gig, complete with a truly Craig reaction:

It may have been a good thing that Mads Mikkelsen and Daniel Craig never did the torture scene sequence on that day, as the Casino Royale co-stars were known to go a bit overboard with what they had planned for that moment. But even in Mr. Craig’s reaction, you could tell that his passion for Mikkelsen’s casting was there, and that’s something else he admitted during their big reunion. To think, without someone throwing out that lost script like it was a simple piece of trash, Mads Mikkelsen may have made a mistake so huge, he would have lost out on the rest of his career.

Thankfully, you’re in the timeline where Mads Mikkelsen did star in Casino Royale, which is currently available through several streaming providers for enjoyment. But if you want to see what he’s been doing lately, the Academy Award-winning film Another Round is showing on Hulu at this moment. Though, at this point, we basically have to throw in a reminder that all three seasons of Hannibal are on Netflix, unless we want to incur the wrath of the fannibals lurking in the audience.

From a galaxy far away to the most successful cinematic universe of all time, and the other way around, there have been multiple actors who have appeared in Star Wars movies and Marvel movies throughout their career. It doesn’t take long to come up with names like Samuel L. Jackson, Natalie Portman, Lupita Nyong’o, and Mads Mikkelsen, but there have been actors whose performances in either the MCU or Star Wars that have been lost to time. But no more as we have put together an extensive list of the actors who have shown up at time or another in both franchises.

Now, before we get started we should lay out some rules about who is being included and why. The list only includes actors who have appeared in the MCU in addition to Star Wars at some point. This doesn’t include any of the films in the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters or any other Marvel film franchise like X-Men or Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy.

Samuel L. Jackson - Mace Windu/Nick Fury

When thinking of actors who have shown up in Star Wars and the MCU over the years, the first person to come to mind is more times than not none other than Samuel L. Jackson. I mean how could you forget Mace Windu and his awesome purple lightsaber in the Prequel Trilogy starting with the family friendly Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace and his badass scenes throughout his other two appearances in the trilogy.

And then there is Samuel L. Jackson’s work in the MCU, which started with the iconic Iron Man post-credits scene when his version of Nick Fury introduced himself to Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) about starting the Avengers Initiative. The rest, well, it’s history, and Fury has become one of the franchise’s most beloved and mysterious characters to date.

Natalie Portman - Padmé Amidala/Jane Foster

Natalie Portman is another massive star to appear in both Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe with plenty more Marvel on the way including her return for Thor: Love and Thunder. First introduced to the MCU in 2011’s Thor as Jane Foster, one the world’s premier astrophysicists and eventual love interest to Chris Hemsworth’s God of Thunder, Portman appeared in the franchise’s second installment Thor: The Dark World in 2013 before stepping away from Marvel for what will be nearly a decade before she takes up the mantel of Lady Thor in the upcoming sequel.

Natalie Portman was also instrumental throughout the three Star Wars prequels as the queen-turned-senator from Naboo and eventual mother of Luke and Leia before dying of a broken heart in Star Wars: Episode 3 - Revenge of the Sith.

Paul Bettany - Dryden Vos/Vision/Jarvis

Even though Solo: A Star Wars Story is considered a failure by many, one of the 2018 film’s stars, Paul Bettany is actually quite fond of the standalone movie. And honestly, he has every right to feel that way considering he was one of the best things about the movie (along with another actor who appeared in both Star Wars and the MCU) with his portrayal of Dryden Vos, the figurehead leader of the Crimson Dawn crime syndicate.

Paul Bettany’s stellar Solo performance is par for the course for the talented and versatile actor who has been in the Marvel Cinematic Universe longer than just about everyone else. After voicing Tony Stark’s AI Jarvis going back to 2008’s Iron Man, Bettany portrayed the character as well as Vision in a number of MCU movies before getting his very own Disney+ series with WandaVision in 2021 where he trolled the hell out of the show’s fans.

Andy Serkis - Supreme Leader Snoke/Ulysses Klaue

More times than not, when we see Andy Serkis in a movie, it’s either under a ton of makeup or a CGI character brought to life by the actor’s masterful motion-capture work. That can’t be said for his two appearances in the MCU where he portrayed crime lord Ulysses Klaue in Avengers: Age of Ultron and again in Black Panther (with that deadly cybernetic arm) before getting killed off by Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) before the villain made his return to Wakanda.

Over on the Star Wars side of things, Andy Serkis did what he does best when he performed all the motion-capture work for Supreme Leader Snoke starting in The Force Awakens before being cut in half in the much-maligned sequel The Last Jedi. And while everyone thought the character (and Serkis) would have a much longer shelf life in the franchise, his early departure shouldn’t take away from his performance.

Benicio Del Toro - DJ/The Collector

Benicio del Toro has appeared in three different MCU movies over the years, portraying Taneleer Tivan, aka The Collector, in Thor: The Dark World, Guardians of the Galaxy, and finally Avengers: Infinity War. A crucial character in the Infinity Saga, The Collector played a prominent role in helping audiences better grasp the concept of the Infinity Stones and Thanos’ quest to secure all six.

Long before he appeared as DJ, the untrustworthy codebreaker in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Benicio del Toro was originally up for the role of Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace but later dropped out and delayed his debut in the galaxy far, far away for nearly 20 years.

Donald Glover - Lando Calrissian/Aaron Davis/Prowler

Donald Glover was already a big name when he was cast as Lando Calrissian in Solo: A Star Wars Story with his popular Atlanta series and work on Community making a strong case, but he reached another level of stardom when he took on the role first made popular by Billy Dee Williams nearly 40 years earlier. And while Solo wasn’t anyone’s favorite Star Wars movie, Glover’s Lando was worth the price of admission alone.

A year before making his Star Wars debut, however, Donald Glover appeared in Spider-Man: Homecoming in a seemingly small capacity, but as a character with an extensive history in Marvel Comics. His one-scene performance as Aaron Davis, aka Prowler was a fun little easter egg and one that CinemaBlend predicted back in June 2016. Let’s just hope this wasn’t a one-and-done role for the Hollywood renaissance man.

Mads Mikkelsen - Galen Erso/Kaecilius

Mads Mikkelsen, who has made a career out of playing villains, served as one of the main antagonists in 2016’s Doctor Strange when he took on the role of Kaecilius, a former member of the Masters of the Mystics Arts who brought Dormammu to Earth before becoming forever trapped in the Dark Dimension.

Over in Star Wars, however, Mads Mikkelsen played a less evil character (considering the circumstances) with his portrayal of Galen Erso, the father of Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Although he was responsible for the creation of the Death Star, Erson did put in a crucial flaw in the battle station’s defenses.

Lupita Nyong’o - Maz Kanata/Nakia

Andy Serkis isn’t the only future Marvel actor to pull of some impressive motion-capture work in a Star Wars movie as Lupita Nyong’o helped bring the CGI character Maz Kanata to life in 2015’s The Force Awakens. With the help of talented artists, Nyong’o’s animated Force-sensitive character who proved to be a key ally for Rey (Daisy Ridley) and company throughout the sequel trilogy.

Not long after appearing in Star Wars, Lupita Nyong’o moved over to the Marvel Cinematic Universe where she took on the role of Nakia, one of T’Challa’s (Chadwick Boseman) biggest allies and love interest in Black Panther.

Forest Whitaker - Saw Gerrera/Zuri

Forest Whitaker’s Zuri was at the center of the complicated history of Wakanda that came back to nearly overthrow reclusive nation in Black Panther, but even though the elder was responsible for one of T’Chaka’s (John Kani) worst moments, he tried to prevent history from repeating itself, putting his life on the line in the process.

Over on the Star Wars side of thing, Forest Whitaker portrayed the paranoid revolutionary figure Saw Gerrera in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story that walked a fine line between ally of the rebellion and overzealous terrorist. That moral ambiguity was one of the reasons why Whitaker enjoyed taking on the memorable character.

Jon Favreau - Rio Durant/Happy Hogan

In addition to creating the hit Disney+ series The Mandalorian, actor/director/producer/writer Jon Favreau has appeared in the Star Wars galaxy in an acting role, voicing Rio Durant in Solo: A Story Wars Story. The good-natured, four-armed pilot was at the center of the film’s big heist, dying in the process.

Over on the Marvel side of things, there are few people who have been more instrumental in launching the MCU and keeping it going over the years than Jon Favreau. In addition to directing two of the first three movies in the franchise with his Iron Man movies, Favreau has appeared in numerous movies as Happy Hogan, including giving us one of the most emotional scenes in Avengers: Endgame.

Ben Mendelsohn - Orson Krennic/Talos

History would tell you that Ben Mendelsohn would have been the one playing the villain when he appeared as Talos, one of the main Skrulls at the center of Captain Marvel, but the veteran Australian actor proved that he was capable of playing an unassuming hero who doesn’t look like he’s going anywhere anytime soon.

The same can’t be said for his portrayal of the Imperial Orson Krennic in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Even though he never really got a fair shake and was constantly knocked down a few pegs by Grand Moff Tarkin (Guy Henry) who even took Krennic’s Death Star from him, when the director of the Imperial’s military research division was about as evil as evil can be.

Hannah John-Kamen - First Order Bridge Officer/Ghost

Hannah John-Kamen appeared as Ant-Man and the Wasp antagonist Ava Starr, aka Ghost, a character who needed a special suit to provide relief for her unstable quantum state following an accident as a young child. And while not much has been said about a possible return to the MCU, John-Kamen has teased fans about that for a couple years now.

A couple years before she joined the MCU, Hannah John-Kamen appeared briefly in Star Wars: The Force Awakens as the First Order bridge officer who told General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson) that Starkiller Base’s powerful weapon would soon be operational.

Richard Armitage - Naboo Fighter Pilot/Heinz Kruger

Richard Armitage, who would go on to portray Thorin Oakenshield in Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy, appeared in his first movie back in 1999 when he had a very small part as a Naboo fighter pilot in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.

A little more than a decade later, Richard Armitage would make a lot of out of a short amount of time in Captain America: The First Avenger, appearing as Hydra spy Heinz Kruger who attempts to steal the super soldier serum and kills Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci) before being chased down by Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and his new superhuman powers.

Peter Serafinowicz - Darth Maul (Voice)/Garthan Saal

And then there is Peter Serafinowicz, who played Nova Corps officer Garthan Saal in Guardians of the Galaxy. Featured in several key scenes throughout the 2014 surprise hit, Saal was one of the Nova Corps pilots to sacrifice themselves in an attempt to prevent Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace) from decimating Xandar.

Fifteen years before joining the MCU, Peter Serafinowicz provided the voice of Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace after he was brought in to overdub Ray Park’s original dialogue during post-production. He would later have harsh words for the movie.

These are just a few of the actors who have appeared in Star Wars and the MCU over the years, as dozens have appeared in smaller roles in each property. This also doesn’t even begin to touch on the names who have appeared in Star Wars or Marvel shows like The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s Erin Kellyman, Luke Cage’s Jessica Henwick, or The Mandalorian’s Rosario Dawson and Ming-N Wen. We will just have to wait and see if this list continues to grow with all the upcoming Star Wars movies and Marvel Phase 4 and beyond.

We love to hate movie villains and as it turns out there's a number of actors who do not mind playing the bad guy either... even if it's again and again. There’s a number of actors that come to mind who we go into a movie thinking they will be revealing their evil plot or betraying another character’s trust. Most recently this happened with the casting of Mads Mikkelsen in the Indiana Jones franchise. Although we have no idea who he'll play, fans jumped right to the question as whether he'd be the film's mysterious antagonist.

You know how we always expect Tom Hanks to play an inspiring or lovable character? This list is the opposite of that. Let's talk about the actors who are almost always cast as the villain:

Mads Mikkelsen

Since Mads Mikkelsen was cast in Indiana Jones 5 last week, I assure you, most of our brains lit up with the assumption that the actor is about to become the next adversary to Harrison Ford’s Dr. Henry Jones Jr. Now, that may not be the case. Perhaps Mikkelsen is a new friendly archeologist in the game eager to assist the legendary hero on his next adventure. After all, he was a good guy in Rogue One. Still, as Mikkelsen explained to Esquire, he loves playing these juicy, antagonistic roles and has no problem with taking one after another:

Mads Mikkelsen made a lasting impression as a villain for Casino Royale, and has gone on to star in Hannibal, Doctor Strange and Chaos Walking. He'll soon star in Fantastic Beasts 3 as Gellert Grindelwald. Now that we've heard the current king of movie villainy, let’s get into the other actors that we hesitate to trust in movies:

Javier Bardem

Not unlike Mads Mikkelsen, Spanish actor Javier Bardem has had more than his share of villainous roles, and he’s also earned the status of Bond villain as Skyfall’s Silva. He most famously earned the role of main Hollywood antagonist for playing Anton Chigurh in 2007’s No Country For Old Men. He won an Oscar for the role and has often gone for more malicious characters, such as Captain Salazar in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. That said, he will play a key ally to Dune’s protagonist Paul Atreides as Stilgar in the upcoming Denis Villenueve blockbuster.

Willem Dafoe

How incredible is it that Willem Dafoe’s actual given name sounds like “da foe,” or “the villain,” and that’s summed up how many of us perceive his career. Sometimes it’s all in the name. Dafoe was unforgettably the Green Goblin to Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man in the very first big screen take on the superhero. He was also a pesky assassin in The Grand Budapest Hotel and an angry lighthouse keeper with Robert Pattinson in The Lighthouse. Although the actor is a well-known movie villain, he’s an eclectic character actor who has explored a lot of different kinds of characters throughout the years.

Hugo Weaving

Another frequenter of the dark side is Hugo Weaving, who has played the masked V in V For Vendetta, Agent Smith in The Matrix, Megatron in the Transformers and Red Skull in the first Captain America movie. The English actor has shown a subtle terror to his villainy, which his fellow actors on this list don’t always show. When you feel a cold chill around a character without the big theatrics involved, that’s a seriously sinister role. Weaving has pulled off more than a few of those.

Jared Leto

He's played The Joker, DC's most infamous villain, in Suicide Squad and Zack Snyder’s Justice League, but Jared Leto’s bad guy roles do not stop there. This is a funny one because Leto got his start as teen heartthrob Jordan Catalano on My So-Called Life. But then he was a home invader in Panic Room, John Lennon’s killer Mark David Chapman in Chapter 27, starred as Blade Runner 2049’s villain and appeared The Little Things to once again play a criminal. He’ll flip the script next year as Morbius, who seems to be a misunderstood vampire rather than full-on Dracula.

Vincent D’Onofrio

One does wonder if actors such as Vincent D’Onofrio are actively looking and auditioning for villain roles or seeking them out. The 61-year-old has also played a lot of deliciously bad guys on the big screen and television. More recently, he’s found acclaim from Marvel fans for his version of Kingpin in the Netflix series Daredevil. Aside from that, D’Onofrio was totally the gross bug alien in Men in Black and the antagonist in 2015’s Jurassic World. Law & Order fans may feel off set from this thanks to his role as Detective Robert Goren in Criminal Intent.

Edward Norton

Then there’s Edward Norton, who fooled us once with his character’s backstabbing in The Italian Job and went there by playing a neo-Nazi in American History X. In between some smarmy roles over the years, he did switch things up by playing Bruce Banner, a.k.a. The Hulk, before he was replaced by nice-guy actor Mark Ruffalo. Norton has the ability to play the sneaky villain or the unassuming baddie, and props to him for playing at his strengths over the years. But sometimes when he goes for earnest roles, I question it for a moment. He keeps us guessing.

Christoph Waltz

Our last stop on the villain train is Mr. Christoph Waltz, who seems to be a lovely man in real life, but can’t stop and won’t stop playing the most despicable humans Hollywood can think of. The Austrian-German actor can honestly thank Quentin Tarantino for this perception thanks to his memorable roles in Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained. The Oscar-winner has also been the Bond villain Blofeld in Spectre, a cruel circus handler in Water for Elephants and Big Eyes’ Walter Keane. You know, the guy who stole credit for his wife’s work.

Lots of iconic actors here who love to play bad and do it very well. It's really a compliment to their ability to remain in our heads as these characters more than anything. Which one is your favorite to see as the villain? Vote in our poll below!

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What's old is always new again in Hollywood, with major theatrical returns coming soon from the likes of Ghostbusters and Dune, and that’s just to name a couple. TV has been riding high on the reboot and revival train for a while now, with shows like CSI and Battlestar Galactica getting new cracks at it on streaming, and it would seem that Star Wars and MCU vet Mads Mikkelsen is still hoping his serial cannibal drama Hannibal will one day follow in those TV footsteps to return for a new season. Mikkelsen says that although working on Bryan Fuller's Hannibal was “brutal”, he would love to return for a fourth season.

In an interview with Vulture, Mads Mikkelsen says that he not only would love to return for a final season of Hannibal, but he's certain that everyone else would be down for a comeback, too. And there's no question about the fanbase's interests, as Fannibals have been clamoring for years for NBC to produce Season 4. Mikkelsen's desire to come back to this particular show remains in place despite the various difficulties that come along with bringing Hannibal's scripts to life, and the actor explained how much of a challenge it was to learn everything needed to fill Dr. Hannibal Lector's high-brow and worldly shoes, especially when the pages weren't always arriving on time. Here it is in the actor’s own words:

Watching Mads Mikkelsen take on the persona of Dr. Lector, you would never know he ever had to deal with short preparation times. In fact, one could bemusedly consider Mikkelsen going the route of method acting, since he pulls off the classy, charming and delectably threatening vibe of the cannibal pretty perfectly throughout the three seasons that were produced.

Since the NBC series wasn’t super grotesque in its portrayal of Hannibal, with the gore often maintaining and artful aesthetic, a good amount of the disturbing and haunting vibes were put forth by the characters themselves. We don’t necessarily see much of the deviously inhuman acts Mads Mikkelsen’s character is guilty of, yet we fully understand how deprived the character is, and that’s thanks to Mikkelsen's meticulous and understated portrayal, which seemingly comes extremely natural to him.

In the same interview, Mads Mikkelsen says that if the show had been picked up by a network or platform that would have allowed more brutal and explicit scenes, some of the show's inherent beauty could have potentially been lost, and fans possibly would have been watching slightly different characters as a result. Here’s how he puts it:

That’s not to say we didn’t get some very creepy and disturbing scenes, because we definitely did - how could anyone forget the human cello? However, Hannibal never went further than what NBC would allow. If a fourth season were to happen, though, it’s possible-going-on-likely that it would happen on a different network or platform entirely. Netflix has been known to pick up ended series for a revival season, which is how we ended up with extra seasons of Arrested Development, One Day at a Time and more.

While Peacock is the most likely future home for the NBCUniversal series, HBO (or HBO Max) would fit the show pretty perfectly for a fourth season, if you ask me. Not only would the writers be allowed free reign to go as dark as they wanted, you know HBO would pour money into it as well. If we are to take Mads Mikkelsen’s words to heart, it wouldn’t be so hard to get the Hannibal gang back together for another season to wrap things up nicely. While nothing may come of it, at least Mikkelsen gives fans some hope for another season that gives the show a tidy ending. And you don't even need to memorize any erudite monologues to feel that hope.

For American audiences, Mads Mikkelsen might not be a household name, but there's a good chance that you're familiar with the danish actor's work. Whether it's Casino Royale, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, or Doctor Strange, to name only a few of his high-profile titles, the Another Round star has made a lucrative career playing minor or major roles in some of the biggest movies in the world.

That tradition continues with two upcoming titles, which will find him inside the magical world of Hogwarts in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 3 and acting in one of the biggest action film franchises in cinematic history in Indiana Jones 5. If you love the actor (you're mad about Mads) but not totally sure where you've seen the famous actor before, we're here to help. Here are the famous film franchises starring the one and only Mads Mikkelsen. And this article does contains spoilers.

Star Wars

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, Mads Mikkelsen played Galen Erso, a brilliant scientist who was forced to make what would later become the Death Star's super-laser, in 2016's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. While Mikkelsen only gets a limited amount of screentime in this space saga, he plays a key emotional character for our main protagonist, Jyn Erso. In a firefight that would result in his demise, Mikkelsen's character establishes the dramatic stakes for our then-child lead character, one who would later hold a burning resentment towards the domineering Imperialist army. Her fight in the ill-fated battle for the Rebellion is emboldened by her desire to do right by her late father and try to protect others from suffering a similar fate. Alas, while her character isn't successful in her mission, she carries the burning spirit of her father's undying tenacity under her final breath.

Marvel Cinematic Universe

Nowadays, nearly every major name in Hollywood has worked on a Marvel movie or two at some point in their career. It's practically a right of passage. Certainly, that's no exception for Mads Mikkelsen. The Danish actor played Kaecilius, a villainous sorcerer with life-altering powers, in Doctor Strange. Admittedly, this is an example of a character's look being more distinctive than their personality, but Mikkelsen does sell an appropriate amount of menace through this supporting performance. His intense eyes and his stern face are good at communicating the dangers that lurk within this time-and-space-changing bad guy. His character didn't have a long stay in the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe (the actor isn't expected to return for the sequel), but he made a decent impression nonetheless.

007

James Bond has faced his fair share of foes throughout a 50-year cinematic career, but few bad guys were more nefarious than Le Chiffre, a private banker who finances international terrorism, played by Mads Mikkelsen in 2006's Casino Royale. A half-blinded villain who will go to perverse lengths to torture our young lead character, Mikkelsen plays a snarling meanie who wouldn't stop until world domination was in his grasp. While the actor admits that this knowledge of 007 was limited when he took on this role, he plays into the Bond bad guy fabulously well, capturing the intense disdain and dread that was needed for this tonal shift in the character's reworked origin story. The result remains Daniel Craig's finest outing as 007, though we'll have to wait to see how No Time to Die compares to this '00s reboot.

Harry Potter

When the currently-untitled Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 3 makes its way into theaters, you can expect Grindelwald to look different than he did in the previous two movies. That's because Mads Mikkelsen took over the part after Johnny Depp left the project. Certainly, as we've noted in this article, the actor is no stranger to playing villainous or antagonistic figures, and this role should come as no exception. Certainly, the previous movie, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, made it apparent that the character was going to have a bigger role in this newest sequel, so we should expect that acclaimed actor to get some ample screen time in this upcoming wizarding sequel. The sequel finished filming earlier in April and it's slated for release on July 15, 2022. We'll have to wait until then to see how Mikkelsen fares in only his latest villainous performance.

Indiana Jones

On July 29, 2022, Indiana Jones will crack the whip once more with a brand new sequel, which will feature a slew of new characters joining the aged adventure seeker on his latest (and presumably last) adventure. Details are limited at this time, but we know that Harrison Ford will be joined by Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Mads Mikkelsen in undisclosed supporting roles. Based on his experience with previous franchise features, it's natural to assume that Mikkelsen will be playing one of the movie's antagonistic figures, but that's merely speculation. As the blockbuster sequel remains in the early days of pre-production, we'll be learning more about this untitled Indiana Jones sequel in the months ahead. For now, though, we can only hope that this newest film from director James Mangold (Logan) serves as a fitting farewell to one of the most iconic characters in cinematic history.

Hannibal

While NBC's Hannibal is certainly not a film, this acclaimed television adaptation of Thomas Harris' most famous character remains one of the actor's most recognized and distinguished performances, eventually earning a vibrant cult following even when the ratings weren't consistently high. Starring Mads Mikkelsen in the title role, filling in big shoes in Anthony Hopkins' Oscar-winning absence, the lead actor certainly holds his own, making his own take on the character that is, at once, reverent to Hopkins' legendary portrayal while also making the character his own. The result is an impressive turn in a show that only continued to impress throughout its three-season stay on the network. Alas, while the vocal audience couldn't keep the show on the air, this high-profile performance not only continued the actor's notorious villain streak but continued to earn the actor praise for his meaty work. He certainly relished this role — no fava beans or chianti needed.

For more updates on Fantastic Beasts 3, Indiana Jones 5, and more, be sure to follow CinemaBlend!

As of late, Mads Mikkelsen has been finding himself checking off roles on some of the biggest movie franchises of all time. He’s Casino Royale’s Le Chiffre, Star Wars’ Galen Erso, Doctor Strange’s Kaecilius and Fantastic Beasts’ new Grindelwald, and he was just cast in an undisclosed role in Indiana Jones 5. And at one point, Mikkelsen was on its way to play a major role in 2005’s Fantastic Four until he simply walked out on the opportunity.

While gathering worldwide fame for his James Bond role, Mads Mikkelsen shared one of the auditions he went on in the early 2000s that did not go well. He apparently went up for the role of Reed Richards, a.k.a. Mr. Fantastic, but he just was not into it. Here's how he told it when he mentioned Fantastic Four while talking about his early Hollywood career:

Welp... that sounds like an odd audition if I ever did hear about one. Mads Mikkelsen reflected to Vulture about going up for Mr. Fantastic, sharing how ridiculous it felt for him to deliver a single line and get flexible. It sounds like the Marvel producers didn’t have a lot of depth in mind for Reed Richards, and Mikkelsen is well known for bringing a large and textured presence to his roles, even in blockbusters.

As Mads Mikkelsen spoke about the lost Fantastic Four part, he didn't sound too sad about missing out on playing the leader of the Marvel team. His friend Ioan Gruffudd nabbed the role alongside Jessica Alba’s Sue Storm, Chris Evans’ Johnny Storm and Michael Chiklis’ Ben Grimm. Tim Story’s movie became an early success for Marvel and inspired a sequel years before the MCU had formed.

Just as Chris Evans found a second life in the superhero world after Fantastic Four with his Captain America role, Mads Mikkelsen’s bad audition for the 2005 movie did not deter him or Marvel from coming together for Doctor Strange. Though looking back, the Hannibal actor could have been a seriously awesome Reed Richards at the time.

Over 15 years later, Mads Mikkelsen is one of the most sought-after actors in the business, currently bringing his own take on Fantastic Beasts’ Grindelwald after Johnny Depp was asked to leave the role last year. And as mentioned earlier, he just lined up a role alongside Harrison Ford for the next Indiana Jones adventure, which is set to begin filming this summer.

As for the Fantastic Four, they're getting ready to be rebooted (again) for the MCU following a disappointing 2015 film starring Michael B. Jordan and Miles Teller. The new Fantastic Four movie will be directed by Spider-Man: Homecoming’s Jon Watts and could come as soon as 2022. Check out the full Marvel movie lineup headed our way, starting this summer with Black Widow, here on CinemaBlend.

The links between the Indiana Jones series and the James Bond franchise just keep growing by the day. With Indiana Jones 5 recently hiring No Time To Die writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the bridge linking the two sagas seemed pretty solid. But now, a full-fledged Bond villain has been brought into the fold, as director James Mangold’s installment has just cast Casino Royale’s Mads Mikkelsen in an undisclosed role.

Mikkelsen’s participation was announced by Deadline, but as you could expect, no further details have been provided as to who he’s playing and how they fit into the story. 2021 has been a fantastic year for Mads Mikkelsen so far, especially in the world of tentpole franchises. His Indiana Jones 5 casting comes on the heels of another pretty big space on the Mikkelsen bingo card being filled, thanks to his being recast as Gellert Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts 3.

Indiana Jones 5 is set to start shooting this summer, at which point the world will probably get the basic details as to what Mads Mikkelsen is doing in this particular cinematic universe. But if we’re going to start speculating how the man once known as Le Chiffre will be leaving his stamp in Harrison Ford’s legendary archaeological crowd pleaser, there is one possibility we’re stuck on. Should you want to put money on Mr. Mikkelsen’s status in Indiana Jones 5, he’s probably going to be playing a villain.

As the Indiana Jones series has always played around with the formula of the James Bond franchise, Mads Mikkelsen’s casting feels like it’s bound to fit that very mold. With Dr. Jones back in action yet again, it only seems fitting that a shadowy figure would be set to try and conquer the world through archeological myth. And with the market basically playing towards those strengths anyway, it feels like Mads Mikklesen is giving the people what they want.

Then again, there’s a chance that James Mangold and the Indiana Jones 5 crew have cast Mr. Mikklesen to play a likable associate that helps Indy and his team save the day. While villainy has made up a good portion of his highlighted filmography, Mads Mikkelsen does have the charm required to play a hero. If you ever had a doubt about that particular fact, just ask his rabid fanbase, and the people who have been praising his latest film, Another Round.

Indiana Jones 5 is about to bring the franchise born out of Steven Spielberg’s dreams to direct a James Bond movie closer to resembling the classic adventures that inspired it. With a July 28, 2022 release date penciled in at the moment, this long fabled sequel is going to become a reality pretty quickly. And as we’ve seen with past Indy sequels, anything could be waiting behind the great veil of secrecy that surrounds this project.

Making his 007 debut in 2006’s Casino Royale, actor Daniel Craig had what was possibly one of the most infamous scenes in James Bond history. Tied to a chair and stark naked, Bond finds himself at the whim of the nefarious villain Le Chiffre, played by Another Round actor Mads Mikkelsen. What ensued was a torturous experience where James Bond has his crown jewels whipped by a knotted rope; a scene that, if it were left up to the actors, could have been even more brutal.

Reunited by Variety for a very informative video chat, the Casino Royale co-stars spilled a lot of fun stories from the beginning of Daniel Craig’s reboot arc. But if you’re going to get James Bond and Le Chiffre in the same room, one of two things has to come up: their supposedly laughable poker battle or the ball whipping incident. Both were discussed, with Mads Mikkelsen revealing the process that reined in the madness on the latter:

While the finished scene in Casino Royale apparently was toned down from the extreme energy that Daniel Craig and his iconic co-star were working with, it was still a bit harsher than what the 1953 book intended. For starters, in Ian Fleming’s version of events, Le Chiffre wielded a “cane carpet beater” that he lightly flicked underneath Bond’s chair. But in director Martin Campbell’s second outing meant to introduce a new 007 to the world, he went balls to the chair with a thick, knotted rope.

It was certainly a far cry from Daniel Craig’s first day on the set, kicking ass and taking names. And make no mistake, that Casino Royale scene was actually carried out. Mads Mikkelsen was really whipping Daniel Craig in a chair, just with an added layer of protection. Though as Craig and Mikkelsen waxed nostalgic, it was learned that even that protection had its moment of weakness:

The chair torture in Casino Royale actually exceeds its literary source material when it comes to its cruelty. In Chapter 17, entitled “My Dear Boy,” Le Chiffre’s methods against James Bond’s manhood are more exacting, but still quite painful. That said, the character is described as having a more girthy presence than Mads Mikkelsen’s more svelte and handsome version in the movie. Also, Le Chiffre is smoking and working on a pot of coffee as he works his foe over in a much nicer room than we see in Casino Royale’s film adaptation.

As you’ll see in the scene itself, this Le Chiffre is no frills and all pain, which is an approach that actually helps modernize Ian Fleming’s work into a version that fits the rest of the bells and whistles the film contains. But try not to flinch at the thought of splinters, as you watch that interrogation unfold:

With Daniel Craig getting ready for the fall release of his final James Bond film, No Time To Die, and Mads Mikkelsen talking up the Oscar-nominated film Another Round, we won’t see a shortage of either participant in this discussion. And that might be hysterically complicated by the fact that, after reading the details above, their memorable showdown in Casino Royale won’t easily be shaken from the mind. Of course, the ball’s in their court as to whether or not that story shall persist or if it’ll die down.

Sometimes the world has a way of putting people in the right place at the right time. Some chalk it up to coincidence, others to fate. Recently, Katherine Waterston revealed a funny story about running into Fantastic Beasts 3 co-star Mads Mikkelsen before he was even cast as Gellert Grindelwald.

Fantastic Beasts star Katherine Waterston shared that the pair had not only run into one another, they actually hung out together in Venice months before Mads Mikkelsen took over for Johnny Depp in the upcoming Fantastic Beast 3. When asked about working with Mikkelsen on the upcoming film, Waterston shared the story with Collider:

In the interview Katherine Waterston detailed the funny coincidence with Mikkelsen. Despite their prior meeting, Waterston said that she's never worked directly with Mikkelsen, as they don't share scenes in the upcoming Fantastic Beasts 3. While that may come as a disappointment to some, Katherine Waterston is optimistic that she will be able to work with the Danish-born actor in the future.

I don’t think that optimism is unfounded, as the Fantastic Beasts series is set to run for a total of five films. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the pair share screen time at some point in the future. Mikkelsen took over as the series' titular villain Grindelwald after Johnny Depp stepped down from the role in the midst of his ongoing legal battles. Despite filming just one scene for the third entry of the Fantastic Beasts, Depp will reportedly take home his full salary.

Johnny Depp’s departure was just one of a number of hurdles that Fantastic Beasts 3 has encountered during production. The COVID-19 pandemic has halted filming multiple times, with the most recent shutdown stemming from a positive test on set.

Since the recasting, it looks like production is once again back on track. The upcoming entry to the Wizarding World is scheduled for a July 15, 2022 release date and remains untitled, despite some of the cast being in the know.

I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw that date shift, especially considering how flexible release dates have been for even the biggest blockbusters. Fingers crossed that Fantastic Beasts 3 has seen the last of its production delays as there are plenty of eager fans ready to once again visit J. K. Rowling’s Wizarding World. As for the rest of the the Fantastic Beasts series, the updated cast is looking pretty stacked. Here's to hoping that director David Yates can keep the magic of the series alive for the entire five movie run.

The Wizarding World franchise encompasses more than just the Harry Potter series. Starting with 2016’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and continuing with 2018’s Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, moviegoers have watched Newt Scamander’s magical adventures unfold decades before the Boy Who lived was born. We’re now approaching the midpoint of this particular journey, with Fantastic Beasts 3 in the midst of production and on track to premiere in 2022.

Warner Bros is keeping plot details for the threequel close to the proverbial chest for now, but fortunately, we at least know who’s comprising the lineup in this next sorcerous outing. Below are all the actors who have been announced or reported to appear in Fantastic Beasts 3 so far, many of whom you’ve already acquainted with in this franchise.

Eddie Redmayne

It wouldn’t be a Fantastic Beasts movie without Newt Scamander involved, so of course Eddie Redmayne would be back. To no one’s surprise, he sided against Gellert Grindelwald (more on him later) in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, so needless to say Fantastic Beasts 3 will involve him embarking on some kind of journey involved with defeating the dark wizard. With Newt around, you can also count on more of his amazing creatures being featured (it’d be pretty weird for those to be completely dropped given this spinoff series’ title), although it remains to be seen how many of them will be new.

Katherine Waterston?

Katherine Waterston plays Tina Goldstein in the Fantastic Beasts series, who was in a demoted position when we met her in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Luckily, her reputation improved following that movie, and she was carrying out work as an Auror for the MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States of America) when The Crimes of Grindelwald rolled around. Like Newt, Tina decided to fight against Grindelwald, though she now finds herself subsequently embroiled in some family drama, which we’ll discuss soon. While it initially seemed like a foregone conclusion that Tina would be back, Waterston wasn't in the first Fantastic Beasts 3 trailer or any of the following previews. Is it possible that the character is sitting out this round of magical action?

Alison Sudol

While it looked like Alison Sudol’s Queenie Goldstein (Tina's sister) and Dan Fogler’s Jacob Kowalski had happy times ahead of them at the end of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, it turns out that the MACUSA banned wizards and non-magical people from marrying. So Queenie cast a love charm on Jacob to convince him to elope in Great Britain, which left him in a dazed state. Eventually Newt Scamander broke the enchantment, and being angered upon learning what happened to him, Jacob left Queenie. Later in the movie, Queenie decided to side with Gellert Grindelwald, as she believed that under his rule, she and Jacob could live their lives together free from oppression. So in Fantastic Beasts 3, she’ll be by Grindelwald’s side as he carries out the next phases of his grand plan.

Dan Fogler

After being freed from the love charm, Dan Fogler’s Jacob Kowalski accompanied Newt Scamander on his next journey, exposing him to even more wonders from the magical world. Despite his anger towards Queenie about what she’d done with him, Jacob was still interested in living a life with her. Unfortunately, by the time they reunited, Queenie had already been taken in by Gellert Grindelwald’s ideology, whereas Jacob found it repulsing. The two still love each other, but they’re now on opposite ideological sides. So while he’s not capable of casting spells, Jacob continues to be an important player in this saga.

Mads Mikkelsen

Much like Voldemort in the original Harry Potter series, Gellert Grindelwald has cemented himself as the main antagonist in the Fantastic Beasts film series. We know he’ll ultimately be defeated, but as of The Crimes of Grindelwald, he’s amassed a sizable following and is more determined than ever for impose a new world order where pureblooded wizards rule the land. However, Grindelwald won’t look quite the same when he returns in Fantastic Beasts 3. After Johnny Depp lost his libel case in the U.K., Warner Bros requested that he step down from the role, and he obliged. Several weeks later, Doctor Strange and Rogue One star Mads Mikkelsen was cast as his replacement, and unless Mikkelsen gets caught in his own controversy, it stands to reason he’ll be playing the character for the rest of the Fantastic Beasts series.

Jude Law

Albus Dumbledore was a key character in the Harry Potter series, and now he holds a similar position in the Fantastic Beasts series since Jude Law debuted as the younger version of the character in The Crimes of Grindelwald. Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald go way back, having once been allies and more, but now they’re enemies, with Dumbledore doing his best to thwart Grindewald’s reign of terror. At the end of The Crimes of Grindelwald, Newt Scamander delivered to Dumbledore a vial he had his Niffler steal from Grindelwald containing a blood pact that prevents Dumbledore and Grindelwald from dueling each other, although Dumbledore believes it can be destroyed. Since we know these two will eventually battle one another in a showdown for the ages, perhaps Fantastic Beasts 3 will show how the vial is destroyed. It’s also worth mentioning that Albus isn’t the only member of the Dumbledore family who involved in the Fantastic Beasts story…

Ezra Miller

Ezra Miller’s Credence Barebone was introduced in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them as a young man who hosted an Obscurus, but The Crimes of Grindelwald revealed that there’s much more to him. After surviving the events of the first Fantastic Beasts movie, the sequel saw Credence meeting Nagini and searching for clues about his heritage. It was initially believed that Credence was Corvus Lestrange V, the long-lost half brother of Leta, but that proved not to be the case. Instead, after siding with Gellert Grindelwald, Credence learned that his real name is Aurelius Dumbledore, making him Albus and Aberforth's long-lost brother. Grindelwald plans to manipulate Credence’s power to kill Albus, and has convinced Credence that Albus wants to kill him. We’ll have to wait and see if Credence stays by Grindelwald’s side for the entirety of Fantastic Beasts 3 or if he’s convinced to switch allegiances.

Callum Turner

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald opened up the Scamander family by introducing Theseus, Newt’s older brother who works as an Auror for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and is described as a “war hero.” Although the brothers have contrasting personalities and had a bit of an awkward dynamic in The Crimes of Grindelwald because Theseus was now engaged to Newt’s former flame Leta Lestrange, they get along reasonably well. Sadly, Leta sacrificed her life during the sequel to save the Scamander brothers, leaving Theseus devastated. No doubt Callum Turner’s character will still be working to apprehend Grindelwald during Fantastic Beasts 3, although it’s worth considering whether he’s acting strictly by the book or is willing to break the rules to seek vengeance.

Jessica Williams

Much like the blink-and-you-miss-it cameo of Zoe Kravitz’s Leta Lestrange in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Jessica Williams only briefly appeared in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald as Eulalie Hicks, a professor at the Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Nicholas Flamel communicated with Eulalie through his magical book, and she urged him to help Newt Scamander. While it hasn’t been revealed yet how Eulalie fits into the Fantastic Beasts 3 picture, rest assured, she’ll have a larger role rather than just cameo again.

William Nadylam

William Nadylam’s Yusuf Kama was hunting Credence Barebone during Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. When Yusuf was a child, his mother, Laurena, was kidnapped by Corvus Lestrange IV and later died giving birth to his daughter, Leta Lestrange. Yusuf’s father made Yusuf swear an Unbreakable Vow to kill the person Corvus loved most, which turned out to be his son Corvus V, who was born from a different woman. However, as mentioned earlier, Credence was not Corvus V, who had actually died as a child. So Yusuf wasn’t able to avenge his mother’s death as planned, but he’ll reportedly be around for Fantastic Beasts 3, and since he didn’t cross the flames to join Grindelwald’s groups, we presumably count on him either being one of Newt’s allies or at least not cause trouble for him.

Poppy Corby-Tuech

Oftentimes an evildoer is accompanied by a right-hand person, and for Gellert Grindelwald, that’s Vinda Rosier, played by Poppy Corby-Tuech. Vinda is committed to bringing forth Grindelwald’s vision for a society where pureblooded wizards rule over everyone else, and she was the one who found the distraught Queenie and brought her before her master. While there’s still three movies left to go in the Fantastic Beasts series, it’s probably a safe bet that Vinda will remain by Grindelwald’s side rather than have a change of heart.

Victoria Yeates

When he’s not trying to stop dark wizards from taking over the world, Newt Scamander works in the Beasts Division of the British Ministry of Magic’s Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Helping him with his work following the publication of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is his assistant Bunty, played by Victoria Yeates. Newt tasked Bunty with looking after his creatures when he went to Paris in The Crimes of Grindelwald, so we’ll have to wait and see if she’s on beast-sitting duty again for Fantastic Beasts 3 or if she’ll be able to participate in the action this time around.

Richard Coyle

Finally, we come to Richard Coyle, who is so far the only new actor who’s slated to appear in Fantastic Beasts 3. Coyle confirmed his involvement on social media, but didn’t reveal any details about the character he’s playing. So whether he’s a wizard or non-magical person, Grindelwald supporter or member of Dumbledore camp, or somewhere in between, all that’s being kept under wraps. Coyle is arguably best known for playing Father Blackwood in the Netflix series The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, so he has some experience playing around in a magical world.

As things stand now, Fantastic Beasts 3 is primed to work its magic in theaters on July 15, 2022. Keep visiting CinemaBlend for more updates on how the threequel is coming along, and if you’re curious about movies arriving in theaters sooner, be sure to look through our 2021 release schedule.

J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter franchise has been consistently entertaining audiences for decades, and it's showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon. The Wizarding World has stayed in theaters thanks to the Fantastic Beasts franchise, which serves as a prequel to Harry's time on the big screen. David Yates' threequel is currently in production, although there was a major shakeup when Johnny Depp was asked to step down from the role of Grindelwald. Acclaimed actor Mads Mikkelsen replaced him, and now fan art imagines what the Hannibal actor might look like as the magical villain.

Johnny Depp was revealed to be the real Grindelwald in the final moments of the first Fantastic Beast film, as Colin Farrell's Percival Graves was actually the villain in disguise all along. Depp's character got to take the spotlight in the aptly titled Crimes of Grindelwald, although now a third actor will play the role. Enter Mads Mikkelsen, and fans are wondering what he might look like in the role. Check it out below, thanks to some A+ fan art.

Well, consider me sold. Mads Mikkelsen has played plenty of iconic villains throughout his career, so he's a perfect actor to replace Johnny Depp as Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts 3. While his performance is sure to differ from his predecessor, smart money says styling and costumes will closely resemble Grindelwald's established appearance.

The above image comes to us from the Instagram of digital artist Axel Plessis Comte. They've got an interest in major blockbusters like Fantastic Beasts, and creating fan art to bring theories and casting updates to life. Here we see Mads Mikkelsen as Grindelwald, complete with his white eye and signature wand. And it certainly seems like the 55 year-old actor is going to be able to pull the look off.

Fantastic Beasts 3 has already had a bumpy road to theaters. The film was gearing up to begin production last spring when sets around the world were shut down over global health issues. And when the cast and crew finally assembled again, Johnny Depp was asked to step down from his part. A replacement was quickly found, and it should be interesting to see how big of a role Grindelwald ultimately has.

Johnny Depp's departure came in response to the actor's ongoing legal battle with his ex-wife Amber Heard. When the actor lost his libel case against The Sun for referring to him as a "wife beater," Warner Bros. decided to part ways. We'll just have to wait and see how the situation proceeds in court, and if Depp's career is further affected by the controversy.

For his part, Mads Mikkelsen has definitely proven himself as a capable actor who is skilled at playing chilling villains. Aside from his starring role in Hannibal, Mikkelsen also played notable antagonists in Doctor Strange and Casino Royale. I can't wait to see what he brings to Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts 3, especially as the character's complicated relationship with Dumbledore is further explored.

Fantastic Beasts 3 is currently expected to arrive in theaters on July 15th, 2022. In the meantime, check out our 2021 release list to plan your next movie experience.

Most Hollywood producers aren't what you would call household names, but Jerry Bruckheimer is an exception. Beginning his career in the early 1970s, he made a name for himself with big 1980s films like Beverly Hills Cop, Top Gun, and Flashdance, and then became famous for his relationship with Michael Bay and franchises National Treasure. He's what industry folks would call a "big deal"... but apparently that status was totally lost on actor Mads Mikkelsen in the making of 2004's King Arthur, as he managed to totally forget who Bruckheimer was not once, but twice during the production.

This funny story recently came to light thanks to a viral post on Twitter featuring an on-camera interview with the Fantastic Beasts 3 star, and you can watch him tell it in full below:

It's not clear what the source of this interview is, but it appears to be from Mads Mikkelsen's home country of Denmark, and it's wonderful. The actor begins the conversation saying that he has a history of having trouble remembering names, and offers up his time on the set of King Arthur as a prime example. His story actually begins rather sweetly, as it suggests the actor is the kind of nice guy who is willing to approach a stranger on a movie set and be friendly, but the way it backfires is hilarious.

The cherry on top, of course, is the Ray Winstone factor. It's funny to think of the gruff English actor just standing at a distance flabbergasted watching Mads Mikkelsen twice introduce himself to Jerry Bruckheimer with totally sincerity and then try to explain the situation later. And as Mads Mikkelsen notes, he winds up being 100 percent correct. Winstone warned him that the behavior would lead him to never working with the producer ever again, and to date that has held true.

Of course, the positive spin to put on this is that Jerry Bruckheimer didn't exactly pull a "You'll never work in this town again," as Mads Mikkelsen's career trajectory has only shot upwards since playing Tristan in Alfonso Cuaron's King Arthur. It was two years later that he joined the legacy of James Bond films playing the antagonist Le Chiffre in Martin Campbell's Casino Royale, and since then he has been dipping his toe in pretty much every major franchise, including the world of Hannibal Lecter (playing the titular cannibal on the NBC series Hannibal), the Marvel Cinematic Universe (playing Kaecilius in Doctor Strange), and Star Wars (playing Galen Erso in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story).

Next he is adding the Wizarding World of Harry Potter to his collection, as he has replaced Johnny Depp as Gellert Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 3, which is currently in production. That particular title is currently on schedule to arrive in theaters on July 15, 2022, but the next time that fans will be able to see Mads Mikkelsen will be alongside Tom Holland and Daisey Ridley in Chaos Walking, which will be arriving March 5, 2021.