Mads Mikkelsen says Johnny Depp 'might' return to the 'Fantastic Beasts' franchise now that he won his defamation case

Mikkelsen took over the role of Gellert Grindelwald from Depp. He hinted at Depp's return following his court battle with ex-wife Amber Heard.

• Mads Mikkelsen said Johnny Depp "might" return to play Gellert Grindelwald.
• "He won the suit, the court [case]—so let's see if he comes back," Mikkelsen told Deadline.
• Depp won his defamation suit against ex-wife Amber Heard earlier this year.

Mads Mikkelsen isn't sure we've seen the last of Johnny Depp in the "Fantastic Beasts" franchise.

In a recent interview with Deadline from the Sarajevo Film Festival, Mikkelsen — who took over the role of Gellert Grindelwald from Depp for "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore" — hinted that things have changed. 

"He won the suit, the court [case]—so let's see if he comes back," Mikkelsen told Deadline, referring to Depp's win in his US defamation case against Amber Heard earlier this year. Mikkelsen took on the role after Depp lost a UK libel trial in 2020 relating to abuse allegations from his ex-wife.

"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. 

"There was no way I could just copy it, because it's so much him," he said about taking on the role that originated with Depp. "It would be creative suicide. So, we had to come up with something else, something that was mine, and build a bridge between him and me."

Mikkelsen also added that doing the role was "intimidating" because of how Depp's fans reacted to him.

"His fans were very, very sweet, but they were also very stubborn," he said. "I didn't interact too much with them, but I could understand why they had their hearts broken."

Depp was asked to step down from starring in "The Secrets of Dumbledore" days after losing a libel case against the publishers of the UK newspaper, The Sun, over a 2018 article, which described him as a "wife beater."

After that, Depp filed a defamation suit against Heard in response to a 2018 op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post that detailed her experience with domestic violence. Though Depp's name wasn't mentioned, the article was widely interpreted as being about him.

The trial lasted six weeks earlier this year, in which both Depp and Heard took the stand, and resulted in the jury awarding Depp $15 million in damages from Heard, and Heard $2 million from Depp. Depp's $15 million reward was dropped down to $10.35 million to comply with state limits for punitive damages.

Since the trial, Depp has tried to jump-start his career. He will next star in Netflix's "La Favorite" in which he plays King Louis XV. The movie will only be streamed in France.

Depp has also reportedly signed on to be the face of Dior's Sauvage fragrance for men. And earlier this week it was reported that he will direct a biopic about the Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani.