Jude Law Cast As Young Dumbledore

After months of speculating, one of the biggest roles in J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World has been confirmed. The Young Pope star and two time Oscar nominee Jude Law will be portraying young Dumbledore in the sequel to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, previous played by Richard Harris and Michael Gambon in the Harry Potter series.

As to how this role will be different from the Hogwarts Headmaster we’re all familiar with, the official summary of the role says that “Law will portray Dumbledore long before the iconic wizard became the Headmaster at Hogwarts, as he has been known in the Harry Potter books and movies.” It then goes on to say that we’ll get a look at him as an actual teacher, “We meet him decades earlier when Dumbledore is still serving as the wizarding school’s Transfiguration professor. He is also a contemporary of Gellert Grindelwald, the charismatic dark wizard who believes wizards are superior to Muggles and No-Majs.”

Excitement is already bubbling up for the latest casting announcement, as director David Yates has issued a statement about the casting news, saying that “Jude Law is a phenomenally talented actor whose work I have long admired, and I’m looking forward to finally having the opportunity to work with him. I know he will brilliantly capture all the unexpected facets of Albus Dumbledore as J.K. Rowling reveals this very different time in his life.”

The script, which, like the previous film, will be written by J.K. Rowling, is expected to be darker than the first Fantastic Beasts, delving into one of the darkest times in pre-Voldemort Wizarding history. The film is expected to begin shooting this summer and it scheduled for release in November 2018. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them earned over $813 million at the global box office.