Colin Farrell joins Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them as a wizard

While it may not be on par with the first season, HBO's True Detective is definitely helping Colin Farrell move back up to the top tier of Hollywood talent. The actor who was once appearing in major projects like S.W.A.T., MINORITY REPORT, and Terence Malick's THE NEW WORLD has been only in supporting roles since then. But, now he is about to join the massive world of Harry Potter fandom.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Farrell has joined the cast of FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM. He will star opposite Eddie Redmayne's Newt Scamander as Graves, a New York wizard. Farrell joins Dan Fogler, Ezra Miller, Alison Sudol and Katherine Waterston who were already cast in the film. It is unknown how significant Farrell's role is or whether he will appear beyond the first film in the announced trilogy.

FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND them is set 70 years before the events of the HARRY POTTER films and seems to have a much older-skewing cast than those eight movies set at Hogwarts school. J.K. Rowling co-wrote the script for the film with Steve Kloves. HARRY POTTER producer David Heyman and director David Yates return in those same capacities.

With no narrative source material to reference, it is hard to tell just what tone the film is going to have but we have been promised it will not feature any overt or direct connections to the HARRY POTTER films outside of existing in the same fictional universe. Farrell has always been a solid actor in my book and has turned in great roles in HORRIBLE BOSSES, SEVEN PYSCHOPATHS, IN BRUGES, and as far back as Joel Schumacher's TIGERLAND. Here's hoping he keeps on getting good roles and no more TOTAL RECALL garbage.

FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM hits theaters on November 18, 2018.