Johnny Depp Addresses 'Fantastic Beasts' Recasting: They Wanted Me to Retire

Johnny Depp spoke candidly about being asked to step down from his role in the "Harry Potter" prequel series, "Fantastic Beasts," saying he thought at the time they were pushing him into retirement.

The actor took The Sun to court after being labeled a "wife-beater" in a 2018 article about his marriage to Amber Heard, but lost the defamation case in 2020. As a result, Warner Bros. removed him from his role as Gellert Grindelwald.

"It literally stopped in a millisecond, like, while I was doing the movie," he told The Telegraph U.K. "They said we'd like you to resign. But what was really in my head was they wanted me to retire."

Shortly after losing the case, Warner Bros released a statement announcing Depp's exit from "Fantastic Beasts."

"We thank Johnny for his work on the films to date. Fantastic Beasts 3 is currently in production, and the role of Gellert Grindelwald will be recast," the statement read, according to Deadline.

Depp released his own statement at the time, saying, "I wish to let you know that I have been asked to resign by Warner Bros. from my role as Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts, and I have respected and agreed to that request."

Reflecting on that moment, Depp said he remembered saying "[Expletive] you.

"There’s far too many of me to kill. If you think you can hurt me more than I've already been hurt, you're gravely mistaken," he said.

Depp made a brief appearance as Grindelwald at the end of 2016's "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," where the character had been disguised as Percival Graves, played by Colin Farrell.

Depp then reprised the role in 2018's "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald." In the final installment of the series, 2022's "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore," Mads Mikkelsen replaced Depp as Grindelwald.

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