'Fantastic Beasts 4': Mads Mikkelsen teases Johnny Depp's return as Grindelwald, says 'see if he comes back'

After Johnny Depp lost his libel case against the UK tabloid The Sun, which had called him a 'wife-beater', Warner Bros removed him from the role of Gellert Grindelwald, the primary antagonist of the 'Fantastic Beasts' franchise. In his place came Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen, who played the role in the third movie in the series, 'Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore'. But Mikkelsen has now said that Depp might come back as the villain now that he has won his defamation suit against ex-wife Amber Heard. While admitting that he found replacing Depp 'intimidating', he said there is a possibility that Depp returns to the role.

While speaking to Deadline, Mikkelsen, also known for 'Hannibal' and 'Doctor Strange', said, "Obviously, well, now the course has changed—he won the suit, the court [case]—so let’s see if he comes back. He might. I’m a big fan of Johnny. I think he’s an amazing actor, I think he did a fantastic job."

Mikkelsen added that when he portrayed the role, he made sure not to imitate Depp as that would have been a "creative suicide".

"So, we had to come up with something else, something that was mine, and build a bridge between him and me. So, yes, it was intimidating. His fans were very, very sweet, but they were also very stubborn. I didn’t interact too much with them, but I could understand why they had their hearts broken," added Mikkelsen.

The 'Fantastic Beasts' franchise is set in the same world as the 'Harry Potter' movie series. It tells the story of the great conflict between a young Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) and Grindelwald, who was the most powerful dark wizard the world had ever seen until Voldemort arrived.

It will be interesting to see whether Depp chooses to return. His exit from the franchise was far more cordial and not as final as his exit as Jack Sparrow from the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' franchise.

If, and this is a big if, the fourth film gets made, that is. 'The Secrets of Dumbledore', which brought back David Yates, received mixed critical reception and became the lowest-grossing film of the franchise. A follow-up movie has not been greenlit yet, and many believe the franchise may have ended, particularly when Warner Bros has a new, more ruthless regime in place led by David Zaslav, who cancelled an almost-finished movie like 'Batgirl'.