‘Harry Potter’ & ‘Fantastic Beasts’ Actor Round-Up: Cannes Festival, The Flash & More

May 27, 2017

Posted by: Emma Pocock

Actor Interviews, Fantastic Beasts Movie, Fantastic Beasts Round-Up, Felton, Films, Fogler, Harry Potter Round-Up, HP Cast, J.K. Rowling, Kravitz, Miller, Movies, News, Richardson, Round-Up, Shaw, Thewlis, Thompson, Watson

This week we’ve seen Julie Walters join the original cast in Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!, moving paper images as seen in Harry Potter become a real possibility with the help of new research funding, a change in cast at Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and news of a new nighttime show at Universal Studios Hollywood!

Catch up with the cast of Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts below, including news on The Flash (from both Tom Felton and Ezra Miller), the Cannes Festival (which Robert Pattinson and Emma Thompson attended, and Tom Felton’s upcoming film showed a few sneak peaks) and more from Fiona Shaw, Emma Watson, David Thewlis, Jude Law, Johnny Depp, Zoë Kravitz and Dan Fogler.

Tom Felton Returns For The Flash Finale & Photos from Ophelia

Tom Felton is set to return as Julian for the last episode of The Flash Season 3, which fans of the show will be very happy to know! His character has gone through twists and turns this season, and we’re rooting for him being signed onto Season 4! See a photo from the finale below:

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The first peak at Daisy Ridley’s Ophelia (based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet) have been released from Cannes, in which Tom Felton will star as Laertes. See the photo of Ridley in character as Ophelia here.

Robert Pattinson at Cannes & New Movie Sign-On

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The Safdie Brothers (Josh and Benny) sat down with Screen Daily to discuss Robert Pattinson’s performance in Cannes competition film, Good Time. On what was it like to work with Robert Pattinson, Benny Safdie said:

I have so much respect for how deep he went, the places he went, the people he met, just his level of commitment, 16 hours a day, he was willing to do whatever. It was cold, I was playing the brother in a wheelchair, and we said to him ‘we don’t need you for this shot’, but he would stay and push me around in the cold. He said: “I need that, to take it that far”. He went above and beyond.”

Read the full interview here.

Robert Pattinson will also star in a two-part romantic mystery film The Souvenir, alongside Tom Burke, Ariane Labed and Richard Ayoade.

The film will be set in the 1980s and tell the story of a young film student a love affair with ‘a complicated and untrustworthy man’ (played by Burke). Pattinson will take on the leading male role in the later of the two-parter.

The Hollywood Reporter gives more details on the film – directed by Joanna Hogg – here.

Emma Watson’s Beauty and the Beast Tops World Records

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According to PopCultureBeauty and the Beast has officially joined the top 10 highest grossing films worldwide. With a worldwide box office total of $1.221.8 billion, Emma’s role as a Disney princess seems to have gone down very well! Let’s keep hoping for that sequel.

David Thewlis on His Role in Wonder Woman

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Wonder Woman, which stars David Thewlis (Remus Lupin) had its worldwide premiere last night, and fans were definitely excited to see the female-led superhero movie!

Thewlis recently had words to say on his role as resident villain Ares in the film:

“Sir Patrick’s entire drive through the other half of the story is to bring about the armistice. That’s his whole intention no matter what’s going on. He meets Diana and see in her somebody who is sympathetic to his cause quite vehemently so.”

Read more on the film and watch the trailer here.

Emma Thompson at the Cannes Festival 

Emma Thompson (Professor Trelawney) premiered their new film The Meyerowitz Stories at the Cannes Festival, and joined Dustin Hoffman on the red carpet to bust a move or two!

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 21:  Emma Thompson and Dustin Hoffman fool around as they departs the "The Meyerowitz Stories" screening during the 70th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 21, 2017 in Cannes, France.  (Photo by Gisela Schober/Getty Images)

(Photo by Gisela Schober/Getty Images)

At the press conference for the film – which also stars Ben Stiller, Noah Baumbach and Adam Sandler – Thompson said on the difficulties of her role:

“I was going to play an American, which is quite hard, but also I was playing an alcoholic, which isn’t hard. All these characters are operating from a position of shame.”

The film tells the story of a family reunion, to celebrate the work of their ‘difficult father’ (Hoffman).

Sandler commented on working with Emma Thompson:

“Now I’m glad to tell my kids that I’m tight with Nanny McPhee [Emma Thompson].”

Read more from the panel at The Upcoming here.

 

Miranda Richardson in Churchill Clip

See a clip of Miranda Richardson (Rita Skeeter) giving an excellent performance in Churchill, portraying the wife of Winston Churchill, Clementine.

“It’s not that easy being married to one either, expected to stand behind you and prop you up…with good humor and unfailing kindness. I sometimes wish I could live my own life.” She says, reflecting on the impact of war on their marriage.

The film will release on June 2nd. Find out more here.

Fiona Shaw in New Biopic, Colette

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According to Deadline, Fiona Shaw (Petunia Dursley in the Harry Potter films) will be starring in Colette, also starring Keira Knightley and Dominic West. A summary of the film is as follows:

“Story follows unconventional country girl Gabrielle Sidonie Colette (Knightley) who has married charismatic egomaniacal writer Willy (West) who is fourteen years her senior. Willy introduces Colette to the hedonistic world of artistic Paris, where her creative appetite is sparked. Willy permits Colette to write her novels only if she does so in his name. The phenomenal success of her Claudine novel series makes Willy a famous writer and Colette and Willy the first modern celebrity couple. Although, the lack of recognition for her work begins to gnaw on Colette and their marriage starts to internally combust.”

The film started production this week. It is being directed by Wash Westmoreland (Still Alice) and supported by the BFI. Read more here.

 

Our Fantastic Beasts cast are also lined up for plenty more projects. Although we’re eagerly awaiting news of production starting on the second film, we’re hoping some updates from the actors will help with the wait!

 

Dan Fogler Will Star in Errol Flynn Biopic

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Russel Mulcahy (Highlander) will direct In Like Flynn, a biopic telling the story of Hollywood star Errol Flynn (portrayed by Thomas Coquerel).

Fantastic Beasts’s Dan Fogler (Jacob Kowalski) is set to star in the film, but his role is not ye known. The film began shooting a couple of weeks ago on Australia’s Gold Coast, and will portray Flynn “as a young man whose magnetism inspires a rag-tag team of friends to set sail in search of elusive New Guinea gold”.

The film will be released in 2018. Read more at The Hollywood Reporter.

King Arthur Interview With Jude Law

We’re all excited to see Jude Law bring young Dumbledore (or Youngledore, as many are calling him) to the screen, but in the meantime Law has starred as the villain (Vortigern, Arthur’s uncle) in Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. Hot Press interviewed him on the role, and he said he was only too eager to see what Guy Ritchie could add to the well known Excalibur tale:

“I was curious. He described the story as a way of looking at British folklore as opposed to history. Guy makes tentpole films with a signature style, wit and energy. When we made the Sherlock Holmes films, I was intrigued by the way Guy applied that style to Victorian London and the Holmes legacy. I thought he did a wonderful job. He was incredibly collaborative and fun, and a very embracing director. When he came to me with King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword, I was intrigued, again, by how he was able to apply his style to the Arthurian legend. I liked that the story is set in the blood, mud and sweat of Londinium, and I loved the fact that Guy was embracing the world of fantasy and folklore.” 

On his character in the film:

“I didn’t want Vortigern to be a witty or sassy villain. I wanted him to be rotten to the core! (laughs). The element of the cost he’s willing to pay to attain and sustain his power was really dark and very interesting to me. Vortigern is almost like an addict. He’s willing to sacrifice so much to hold on to this power.”

He’ll certainly have to channel a different man entirely to play Dumbledore, but we’re hoping that this dark and power-seeking villain will give him an insight into Grindelwald’s character, perhaps (especially as Law mentions Vortigen’s fascism), and how Dumbledore might interact with such a fantastic (ahem) villain in the upcoming wizarding world instalment.

The film is currently in cinemas. See the trailer below and read the full interview here:

Johnny Depp Part of Universal’s  Dark Universe Franchise

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Universal Pictures recently announced the Depp – along with Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe, Sofia Boutella and Javier Bardem – will be part of their Dark Universe franchise, which will portray a world ‘where evil hides in plain sight’. It will draw upon classic Hollywood monsters like Frankenstein’s monster and The Mummy and bring them into new adventures. Depp will star as The Invisible Man. Deadline reports (referring to the photo above from Universal Pictures): 

“From left are Russell Crowe as Dr. Henry Jekyll, Javier Bardem as Frankenstein’s monster, Tom Cruise as soldier of fortune Nick Morton, Johnny Depp as the Invisible Man and Sofia Boutella as the Mummy. It’s Jekyll’s mysterious multi-national org Prodigium that connects all titles in the Dark Universe. Its mission is to track, study and sometimes destroy evil monsters. Prodigium works outside all governments and protects the public from knowledge of the evil that exists in society.”

Next up is The Mummy, starring Tom Cruise, which will be followed by Beauty and the Beast director Bill Condon’s Bride of Frankenstein in 2019. Read the full report at Deadline.

Zoë Kravitz’s Summer Story

Canon has worked with Zoë Kravitz (Fantastic Beasts‘s Leta Lestrange) to create an online film, 365 Days of Summer to encourage fans to share summer stories under the #LiveForTheStory hashtag. It is hoped by Canon that this will help reach a younger audience. Take a look below:

Script Finished for Ezra Miller’s The Flash?

ezra-the-flashWe started this round-up with news of Tom Felton in The Flash, and we’ll end it with (hopefully!) good news about Fantastic Beasts‘s Ezra Miller’s take on the iconic role. After many drafts and rewrites, the script for Miller’s leading role as the superhero is said to be finished. Miller debuted as The Flash in Batman Vs Superman, and will star as the speedster in Justice League (coming in November). The news on the script came from Reddit, so don’t get too excited just yet, but with how enthusiastic Miller is about this role we’re hoping it’s coming closer to being a reality for him!

From the Reddit ‘leak’:

“The script has been completed and approved after MANY drafts and rewrites. The studio has finally approved a very good script, with some calling it ‘a perfect coming of age story regarding a young man trying to control his power’. There have not been that much more conversation regarding this film, although they have been very excited.”

Read the full report at Screen Rant here.

 

 





The Leaky Cauldron is not associated with J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., or any of the individuals or companies associated with producing and publishing Harry Potter books and films.