Fantastic Beasts 2: Casting is underway for young Dumbledore and the director wants suggestions

New cast member Johnny Depp is rumoured to be playing his former lover Gellert Grindelwald

J.K. Rowling previously spilled that Albus Dumbledore would feature in the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them spinoff/prequel movies, but now it’s been made official.

Speaking at a fan event, the director of the upcoming first instalment, David Yates, said:

'In the second movie Dumbledore comes back. He’s got a couple of good scenes with Newt… We’re discussing who would play Dumbledore, any suggestions would be good. [Laughs]'

His words suggest the search is still on for a suitable younger Dumbledore and that he won’t be played by Johnny Depp, who was recently cast in the franchise.

Instead, Depp is thought to be playing Gellert Grindelwald, a dark wizard Dumbledore was once in love with but ended up fighting in a three-hour duel.

Yates’ comments came alongside the screening of a new scene from the first film (above) in which Newt Scamander (played by Eddie Redmayne) namechecks Dumbledore and the attacks in Europe, laying the seed for the Hogwarts’ headmaster’s arrival in the second film.

Richard Harris and Michael Gambon played the sage wizard in the Harry Potter movies, but the field is wide open for a new, younger actor in the role.

We’ll be rounding up our picks shortly.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them opens in UK cinemas on 18 November, with the sequel due on 16 November, 2018.