Academy award nominee and acclaimed actor, Jude Law has been cast as ‘young Dumbledore’ in the upcoming sequel to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – and we are so excited.

The currently untitled film, which will debut Law as Dumbledore is the second of five movies planned for the Fantastic Beasts series – a spin-off of the Harry Potter franchise.

Set decades before Harry Potter was even born, the film will also feature Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander and Johnny Depp as Grindelwald. J.K Rowling, who made her screenwriting debut with the first film, has also written the second film. David Yates will also be returning as director.

Law will be the fourth actor to play the infamous wizard on the silver screen.

However, fans should prepare themselves to see an entirely different side to Dumbledore as he will be portrayed in the decades well before he ever became the headmaster of Hogwarts.

In a statement on Pottermore.com David Yates said,

“Jude Law is a phenomenally talented actor whose work I’ve 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 British actor first became a household name when he starred as poet Lord Alfred Douglas in the 1997 film Wilde. His career has been expanding ever since. Most recently Law has made a move from stage and film to television, scoring a starring role in HBO television series The Young Pope. 

We sure can’t wait to see what Law does in the role. He does have some pretty big shoes to fill.

The sequel to Fantastic Beasts is due for release November 2018.