REVIEW: Mads Mikkelsen Is a Much Better Grindelwald Than Johnny Depp

When the Hollywood studio Warner Bros. along with Johnny Depp announced, that the actor will no longer portray the character of Gellert Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts series, the fans were upset. Depp was good in the role and a very popular actor. We definitely enjoyed his portrayal of Grindelwald.

However, the court confirmed the statements in the British newspaper The Sun, which in 2018 called Depp a rapist who physically assaulted his ex-wife Amber Heard. Four days later, Warner Bros. Hollywood Studio let Johny Depp go and immediately started looking for a replacement.

Less than three weeks later, we found out, that Depp will be replaced by Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen. This was great news, as Mikkelsen is an amazing actor with track record full of exceptional films.

We must mention the Bond film Casino Royale, the series Hannibal, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, but mainly lesser-known, but even better Danish films such as Hunt, Another Round , Riders of Justice or Adam's apples. He won the Best Actor Award at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival for Hunt. Next year, we will see him in the adventure film Indiana Jones 5, where he will probably play a villain to Indiana Jones, famously played by Harrison Ford.

After seeing the film, we can say with certainty, that it was a brilliant casting move. Mikkelsen is much better than Johnny Depp, perhaps in every aspect of Grindelwald's character. The very appearance of the character fits much more for a man who had a relationship with someone like Albus Dumbledore.

Mikkelsen's Grindelwald is more menacing, more confident, wiser, and the actor managed to sell the impression, that there is great pain and strong motivation behind his actions. Although film director David Yates and screenwriter J. K. Rowling gave him no room at all to show more of Grindelwald's personality, the actor still managed to make the most out of what he was given.

All of his words had "clout" and overall, he seemed like a more interesting version of Grindelwald's character. The film has a lot of flaws, but Mikkelsen doesn't. We can't imagine an actor who could handle this challenging role, that is to take on the existing role after Johnny Depp, better than Mads Mikkelsen.