Jude Law Named As Dumbledore

Beloved Character to Join "Fantastic Beasts" Storyline

J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World is bubbling with excitement at this morning's announcement that two-time Oscar nominee Jude Law will be taking on the beloved role of Albus Dumbledore in next year's sequel to the blockbuster hit Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. One of the most popular characters from the Harry Potter series, Law will be playing the Hogwarts Headmaster decades earlier while he is serving as the Transfiguration professor at the school.

Jude Law as Vortigern in next month's much anticipated King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. Law has just been named to take on the role of Albus Dumbledore in next year's Fantastic Beasts sequel.
Jude Law as King Vortigern in next month's much-anticipated King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.


The announcement was made today by Toby Emmerich, President and Chief Content Officer, Warner Bros. Pictures, who said:

As fans ourselves, we are thrilled to have Jude Law joining the Fantastic Beasts cast, playing a character so universally adored. Jude has been a member of the Warner Bros. family for years and we’re excited to embark on this new adventure with him.

The first of five planned Fantastic Beasts films, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them has grossed over $813 million worldwide and was the first screenplay penned by J.K. Rowling. Rowling, who created the global phenomenon of Harry Potter, has already penned the script for the second installment in the new film series. The Fantastic Beasts storyline began a new era in the Wizarding World, decades before the Harry Potter movies.

Richard Harris (left) starred as Albus Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films. Following his death, Michael Gambon (right) took over the role for the remainder of the Potter film series.
Richard Harris (left) starred as Albus Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films. Following his death, Michael Gambon (right) took over the role for the remainder of the film series.

Law follows in the steps of the late Richard Harris, who played Dumbledore in the first two installments of the Harry Potter series (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets), and Michael Gambon, who took over the role following Harris's death in 2002 and continued through the final six Potter films.

Director David Yates, who helmed the final four Potter films and the first Fantastic Beasts film, will be behind the wheel for the sequel as well and said, "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."

Filming of the sequel is slated to begin this summer with an expected theatrical release date of November 16, 2018.