Warner Bros has officially announced that Mikkelsen will be taking over the role of the evil wizard Gellert Grindelwad in the third Fantastic Beasts film.
The trouble all started for Depp when he sued News Group Newspapers Ltd over a story which questioned JK Rowling's judgement in casting him, with the article calling him a "wife-beater".
The four-week libel trial was one of the most sensational celebrity trials to be held in London’s high court. It revealed intimate and often shocking details of a far from perfect life – images of a drunken Depp, Depp blacked out on the floor, Depp writing in blood on a wall, trashed properties and graphically abusive language in text messages to Heard - the court was made privy to all of this.
The trial damaged the Pirates of the Caribbean star’s reputation extensively, he was subsequently asked to resign from his role in Fantastic Beasts by Warner Bros.
Grindelwald was played by Depp in the first and second films in the series and he had been due to reprise the role in this the third Harry Potter spin-off.
Mikkelsen is most well-known for his role as serial killer Hannibal Lecter in the US television series Hannibal. The 55-year-old Dane became famous by playing villains such as Le Chiffre in the Bond movie Casino Royale and Kaecilius in the Marvel film Doctor Strange.
The movie is now slated for a 2022 release.
