Trading pirates for wizards: Johnny Depp joins Fantastic Beasts franchise

Depp set for cameo in 1st film, then larger role in sequel

Image | Germany Johnny Depp

Caption: Johnny Depp is trading in pirates for wizards with a cameo and then a larger, secretive role in the upcoming film series Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, based on J.K. Rowling's wizarding world. (Andreas Arnold/Associated Press)

Johnny Depp is about to enter a world of magic. The actor is set to be part of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in a secretive role according to a Warner Bros. representative Tuesday.

Image | FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM

Caption: Eddie Redmayne stars as magizoologist Newt Scamander in the new series Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. (Jaap Buitendijk/Warner Bros. Pictures)

Depp will appear in a cameo in the first film, which opens on Nov. 18, and have a bigger role alongside star Eddie Redmayne in the sequel in 2018.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is based on Rowling's book of the same name and set 60 years earlier than Harry Potter in 1926 New York.
There are five films planned in the Warner Bros. franchise.
Depp is no stranger to franchises, having led both the live-action Alice films and The Pirates of the Caribbean, both for Disney.

Image | Britain Harry Potter Theatre

Caption: Author J.K. Rowling, who created the Harry Potter wizarding world, is penning the screenplays for the Fantastic Beasts series. (Joel Ryan/The Associated Press)