James Bond actor, Mads Mikkelsen, is reportedly  ‘in talks’ with Warner Bros to replace Johnny Depp as Gellert Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts 3.

Recall that the Pirates of the Caribbean star was asked to step down from the after losing his high-profile High Court libel trial against The Sun newspaper earlier this month.

“I wish to let you know that I have been asked to resign by Warner Bros. from my role as Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts and I have respected and agreed to that request,” he said five days ago.

Moving on, reports from local media revealed that Mikkelsen – who’s known for playing villains including Le Chiffre in 2006 James Bond movie Casino Royale, Kaecilius in Marvel movie Doctor Strange and Hannibal Lecter in TV series Hannibal, is in talks with Warner over replacing Depp.

Depp featured in the first and second films in the series and he had been due to reprise the role in the third Harry Potter spin-off.

Warner Bros thanked Depp “for his work on the films to date” and confirmed that the third movie will be released worldwide in the summer of 2022 after the COVID-19 pandemic forced a change in date from the initial November 2021 release. [Sky News]