‘Fantastic Beasts 2’: Eddie Redmayne Suffered From ‘Wand Shoulder Strain’ During Filming

Everybody assumes that waving and swishing wands are nothing compared to sword fights or gun duels, but “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” star Eddie Redmayne would beg to differ.

While he was filming the “Harry Potter” spinoff sequel, the actor, who plays magizoologist Newt Scamander, actually developed a bad case of what he calls “Wand Shoulder Strain.” “It’s from doing some quite hardcore wand action,” Redmayne revealed to Entertainment Weekly, “but I’m not getting any better for it.”

Who will Redmayne battle in the upcoming Warner Bros. film? It has been widely teased that a huge magical showdown between Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) and Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) will ensue. But the synopsis, which was shared by Collider, also revealed that “Dumbledore will need help from the wizard who had thwarted Grindelwald once before, his former student Newt Scamander.”

A lot of people are actually excited to see Law in action as the young Dumbledore, but the same cannot be said of Depp reprising his role as Grindelwald. Fans are upset that the actor was given the chance to take part in the “Harry Potter” films because of what he did to his ex-wife, Amber Heard. Depp was accused of domestic violence, and fans strongly believe he should be booted out of the franchise.

In the end, Warner Bros. and J.K. Rowling decided to stick with their original decision and not replace Depp. Rowling even issued a statement regarding their decision.

“Harry Potter fans had legitimate questions and concerns about our choice to continue with Johnny Depp in the role. As David Yates, long-time Potter director, has already said, we naturally considered the possibility of recasting. I understand why some have been confused and angry about why that didn’t happen,” she wrote.

Rowling hinted about her “inability to speak openly to fans about this issue,” and she said it “has been difficult, frustrating and at times painful.”

“However, the agreements that have been put in place to protect the privacy of two people, both of whom have expressed a desire to get on with their lives, must be respected. Based on our understanding of the circumstances, the filmmakers and I are not only comfortable sticking with our original casting, but genuinely happy to have Johnny playing a major character in the movies,” she added.

“Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” will be released on Nov. 16, 2018.