Why Johnny Depp Wasn’t In Fantastic Beasts 3 & Why It Worked

Why Johnny Depp Wasn’t In Fantastic Beasts 3 & Why It Worked

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore features Mads Mikkelsen as Grindelwald instead of Johnny Depp. Here’s why Depp isn’t in the movie.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore went through some significant changes due to behind-the-scenes issues, and the biggest one is the recast of Gellert Grindelwald, who was played by Johnny Depp and is now portrayed by Mads Mikkelsen – here’s why Johnny Depp wasn’t in Fantastic Beasts 3, and why it worked better. Despite the critical reception for Fantastic Beasts 3, Mikkelsen’s portrayal of Grindelwald was considered a highlight. The Harry Potter saga might be over, but that wasn’t the end of the Wizarding World, which continues expanding with the Fantastic Beasts movie trilogy, based on J.K. Rowling’s 2001 guidebook Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

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The first Fantastic Beasts movie, directed by David Yates and with a script by Rowling, was released in 2016 and was a critical and commercial success. So plans to expand this side of the Wizarding World began. However, the underperformance of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald cast a shadow over a big part of those plans. In addition to that, the third movie in the series, titled Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, came across a couple of problems during pre-production, and the biggest shake-up was the recast of Gellert Grindelwald, with Mads Mikkelsen taking over the role that was played twice by Johnny Depp.

Related: Fantastic Beasts 3’s Focus On Dumbledore Is Smart But Disappointing

Johnny Depp played Gellert Grindelwald in both Fantastic Beasts movies and was set to reprise his role in the third film. But during the pre-production process of Fantastic Beasts 3, Depp was involved in controversy due to his personal life. In April 2018, Depp sued News Group Newspapers, the publisher of The Sun, for libel. The tabloid published an article in which they referred to Depp as a “wife-beater,” amid a highly-publicized and complicated divorce process from Amber Heard. The lawsuit against NGN wasn’t a smooth process either, resulting in a loss for Depp. Not long after, in November 2020, Warner Bros. asked Johnny Depp to resign, to which Depp agreed, and so Gellert Grindelwald was left without an actor for a couple of days.

Mikkelsen Replaced Depp in Fantastic Beasts 3 After The Amber Heard Lawsuit

Mads Mikkelsen different Grindelwald than Johnny Depp Fantastic Beasts

Although Johnny Depp was replaced by Mads Mikkelsen as Gellert Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts 3, he still received the full salary he was set to earn, mainly as he shot one scene and his contract stipulated that he be paid regardless if the movie was completed or not. While Warner’s decision was interpreted by many as the studio taking sides (more so as Amber Heard kept her role as Mera in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom), the reality is that the court ruling painted a specific and harmful characterization of Depp that would have ended up being detrimental to Warner, the Wizarding World, and the Fantastic Beasts series. Warner then cast Mads Mikkelsen as Gellert Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts 3, and production carried on as planned.

Mads Mikkelsen Made Grindelwald Better

Mads Mikkelsen As Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

Many were shocked to see that Johnny Depp was replaced between Fantastic Beasts installments, but Mads Mikkelsen actually improved and rounded out Grindelwald’s character. Mikkelsen added more subtlety, which created a nuanced, troubling villain. The character of Gellert Grindelwald isn’t described in the Harry Potter book series, so it was up to Johnny Depp and the Fantastic Beasts franchise to bring the figure to life. Depp’s version had a more grandiose and cartoony feel, making him a bit too similar to Voldemort. Grindelwald is supposed to lead with persuasion and is framed as a silver-tongued manipulator. Johnny brought focused the role around his power, which didn’t really work for the antagonist and his goals. Mikkelsen’s Grindelwald, on the other hand, was able to achieve the understatement required by the villain’s character.

Mikkelsen also has far more experience playing a villain. He is most well-known for his part as the titular character Hannibal Lecter in Hannibal, and he also was a key antagonist in Doctor Strange. Along with many of his other thespian qualities, Mikkelsen was able to bring a particular menace and depth to the part that Depp just didn’t possess.

Related: Fantastic Beasts 3: Dumbledore’s Plan To Defeat Grindelwald Explained (Properly)

Grindelwald has already worn convincing disguises in the Fantastic Beasts movies, most notably in the first one where Colin Farrell’s Percival Graves turned out to be Grindelwald in disguise. So, justifying the recast of the character in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, while not addressed, isn’t an issue. Whether there will be more movies from this branch of the Wizarding World is unknown (based on the third movie’s mixed reviews), but it was undoubtedly a big shake-up for the franchise.

Next: Fantastic Beasts 4 Is Even Less Likely To Happen Now

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022)Release date: Apr 15, 2022

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About The Author

Adrienne Tyler
(3409 Articles Published)

Adrienne Tyler is a features writer for Screen Rant. She is an Audiovisual Communication graduate who wanted to be a filmmaker, but life had other plans (and it turned out great). Prior to Screen Rant, she wrote for Pop Wrapped, 4 Your Excitement (4YE), and D20Crit, where she was also a regular guest at Netfreaks podcast. She was also a contributor for FanSided’s BamSmackPow and 1428 Elm. Adrienne is very into films and she enjoys a bit of everything: from superhero films to heartbreaking dramas, to low-budget horror films. Every time she manages to commit to a TV show without getting bored, an angel gets its wings.

When she’s not writing, you can find her trying to learn a new language, watching hockey (go Avs!), or wondering what life would have been like had Pushing Daisies, Firefly, and Limitless not been cancelled. Breakfast food is life and coffee is what makes the world go round.

Guillermo del Toro said “hi” to her once. It was great.

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