Big movie news: Jude Law is Dumbledore! Josh Brolin is Cable!
Young Albus
Decades before Albus Dumbledore was a wise old Hogwarts headmaster, he was Jude Law. The British actor will play a young version of the beloved Harry Potter professor in “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2,” reports Variety. In this second prequel, written by author J.K. Rowling, Dumbledore is the wizarding school’s transfiguration professor. The older, bearded Dumbledore in the Potter films was played by the late Richard Harris and then Michael Gambon. Law is worthy of their legacy: The British actor was nominated for Oscars for “Cold Mountain” and “The Talented Mr. Ripley.”
Rowling has said that Dumbledore was gay and, as a young man, was infatuated with the power-hungry wizard Gellert Grindelwald (played by Johnny Depp). “You will see Dumbledore as a younger man and quite a troubled man,” Rowling said when the first “Beasts” came out last fall. “We’ll see him at that formative period of his life. As far as his sexuality is concerned, watch this space.” Director David Yates will return, as will Eddie Redmayne, who plays bumbling magizoologist Newt Scamander. Production begins this summer, with a release scheduled for November 2018.
Cable news
Josh Brolin wasn’t exactly nice in his first role, the big brother in 1985’s “Goonies.” But now he’s downright villainous. He’s the snarling Thanos in the Avengers movies (next one: “Avengers: Infinity War” in May 2018). And now he has been cast as Cable, the bad guy opposite snarky Ryan Reynolds in “Deadpool 2” — plus three more sequels and spinoffs, says The Hollywood Reporter. The announcement surprised fans, who were expecting Michael Shannon, David Harbour (“Stranger Things”) or even Brad Pitt to be cast. Filming is expected to start in June in Vancouver, British Columbia, with David Leitch directing; it’s set to open next year. Hey, there’s talk of a “Goonies” sequel; maybe he can be a villain in that, too?
Sharon Hoffmann: 816-234-4457, @Sharonakc
This story was originally published April 12, 2017 at 5:23 PM with the headline "Big movie news: Jude Law is Dumbledore! Josh Brolin is Cable!."