Eddie Redmayne compares his Fantastic Beasts role to Brad Pitt in Ocean's Eleven

You might not think of Fantastic Beasts as being a heist film, but its star, Eddie Redmayne, thinks otherwise. Speaking to Jimmy Fallon on his talk show Wednesday night, the English actor — visiting to promote The Secrets of Dumbledore, the newest film in the Fantastic Beasts franchise — called his movie a wizarding heist movie."

"It's like Ocean's Eleven, set in a Wizarding World," Redmayne explained. "And Jude Law, who plays Dumbledore, is basically George Clooney, and I'm Brad Pitt."

It's an unlikely comparison, but it's actually not too far off. The Secrets of Dumbledore finds Redmayne's Magizoologist Newt Scamander on a mission to stop dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen)'s plans to take control of the wizarding world. And because Law's Dumbledore can't actually fight his old friend thanks to old pacts, Newt helps devise a complicated plan to work around that with the help of his friends, including Muggle Jacob (Dan Fogler).

Look, the world might not need more films set in the Wizarding World, but we wouldn't be upset seeing an Ocean's Eleven type film where Law and Redmayne's characters can go full casino robbing at Gringotts or something.

The Secrets of Dumbledore marks the first time the world will see Mikkelsen as the villainous wizard previously played by Johnny Depp, who was asked to resign from the series by Warner Bros. following domestic abuse allegations from ex-wife Amber Heard. In December 2020, the actor opened up about taking over the role in the franchise, telling EW "there has to be a bridge between what Johnny did and what I'm going to do. At the same time, I also have to make it my own. But also we have to find a few links [to the previous version of the character] and some bridges so it doesn't completely detach from what he's already masterfully achieved."

Watch the video above and hear Redmayne's story at nine minutes in. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore hits theaters April 15.

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