Johnny Depp's recasting for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore makes Gellert Grindelwald's motto better. Albus Dumbledore originally coined the phrase that Grindelwald later adopted as his motto, "For the greater good," which was meant to justify the evil deeds that the Dark Wizard committed. The motto was first introduced in the Harry Potter books, but the prequel Fantastic Beasts series can actually explore its origins and effect in the wizarding world.
For the first two movies in the Fantastic Beasts series, Johnny Depp played the infamous Gellert Grindelwald, who was only mentioned in the original Harry Potter franchise as being one of the former owners of the Elder Wand. Grindelwald was considered one of the most dangerous and powerful wizards of all time, planning to create a new world order in which wizards ruled over Muggles, until Dumbledore defeated him in a duel. After ongoing issues with Depp, The Secrets of Dumbledore recast Mads Mikkelsen as the Dark Wizard. Doing so will improve the ethos of the wizard's motto.
The motto "For the greater good" was used to defend the villainous acts Grindelwald performed against those who opposed him, but it never would have worked without him possessing enough charisma to convince his followers. Otherwise, such a saying would ultimately fall flat and leave Grindelwald without the army he tried so hard to grow. The hold that Depp's Grindelwald had over his followers worked as a fear factor, but nothing more. His look in The Crimes of Grindelwald, with pure white hair standing on end and different colored eyes, gave the impression of being something other than human, as if suggesting that Grindelwald's familiarity with the Dark Arts had also altered him physically, just like it had with Voldemort. This appearance was too terrifying to inspire anything other than fear, whereas Mikkelsen's softer, more conventional look can better evoke the kind of charm that a cult leader needs.
Mikkelsen's version of Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts 3 is way more convincing in portraying the infectious charisma the wizard is meant to have. While Grindelwald is also, in many ways, a terrifying character, his greatest strength is his ability to draw others to his cause. His skill at manipulation was displayed repeatedly in The Crimes of Grindelwald, but Depp's version couldn't really capture the kind of charm that is expected of a despotic cult leader, especially one as successful at gathering recruits as Grindelwald. For the many difficult and violent acts his followers were expected to perform, its less believable that they would be willing to do them if fear were their primary motivator. Mads Mikkelsen's appearance in Fantastic Beasts 3 is more likely to inspire the kind of trust and admiration that would endear people enough that they'd want to follow him.
Johnny Depp's recasting in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore changed many things beyond the impact of the motto. Hopefully, the movie will commit to exploring not only the terrifying power Grindelwald wields, which Fantastic Beasts has already portrayed, but also his ability to manipulate those around him, even Dumbledore. Mikkelsen has big shoes to fill for the movie, but the first trailer has made it look promising.
