Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore trailer reveals first glimpse of Mads Mikkelsen after replacing Johnny Depp

Mads Mikkelsen has made his debut in the Fantastic Beasts franchise with the trailer for The Secrets of Dumbledore sharing the first glimpse. 

The Hannibal actor has taken on the role of Gellert Grindelwald after replacing Johnny Depp, who stepped down from the blockbuster series after losing his High Court battle involving ex-wife Amber Heard.

In the three-minute trailer, Mikkelsen is seen sporting a noticeably different physical appearance to Depp’s version of Grindelwald. Gone is the character’s formerly white spiked hair and pale skin, in favour of Mikkelsen’s darker cropped look. 

The Secrets of Dumbledore is set several years after the events of The Crimes Of Grindelwald, and sees Eddie Redmayne’s Newt Scamander and Jude Law’s Albus Dumbledore prepare to face the shadowy figure of Grindelwald in battle. 

Dumbledore says in the clip: ‘If you listen carefully enough, the past whispers to you,’ before introducing the protagonists, which he describes as ‘a magizoologist, his indispensable assistant, a wizard descended from a very old family, a school teacher and a muggle’. 

Grindelwald later announces: ‘Our war with the muggles begins today.’ 

Mads Mikkelsen is taking over as Grindelwald (Picture: PA)

The Secrets of Dumbledore cast includes Jude Law as Albus Dumbledore, Fionna Glascott as Minerva McGonagall and Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander (Picture: PA)

Hogwarts returns (Picture: Backgrid, Warner Bros.)

The trailer also features familiar faces from the original Harry Potter films, including Hogwarts and what could be the school’s secret Room of Requirement, an important location in the OG franchise. 

The Secrets of Dumbledore is directed by David Yates, who helmed the later four Harry Potter films and the first two Fantastic Beasts movies.

Depp was forced to step down from the Fantastic Beasts franchise in light of his legal problems (Picture: Rex Features)

All eyes will be on Mikkelsen’s performance after Depp’s famous turn as Grindelwald in two instalments. 

The 56-year-old actor previously said it would be ‘creative suicide’ for him to try and copy his predecessor’s approach to the character. 

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Speaking to Collider in May, the Doctor Strange actor explained: ‘Everybody’s expecting us to find a different path.

‘Having said that, we need a bridge between what he did and what I’m gonna do, so those bridges you have to find together, whether it’s a certain look, whether it’s a certain attitude in certain situations, but you have to make it your own. Anything else would be plainly just creatively stupid.’ 

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is set for release on April 15, 2022.

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