Mads Mikkelsen Replaced Johnny Depp To Play Gellert Grindelwald After The Latter Quit The Fantastic Beasts Franchise ( Photo Credit – A Still From Fantastic Beasts )
Advertisement
Johnny Depp for the major part of the past two years has been in the eye of storm for his constant feud with former wife Amber Heard. While the latter became the most hated celebrity on the Internet with people demanding her rustication from her movies, Depp had to face the same very early on. The actor after losing the Libel trial was told to walk away from his much-loved Fantastic Beasts franchise. He made way for Mads Mikkelsen who appeared in The Secrets Of Dumbledore.
For the unversed, Johnny played Gellert Grindelwald in the franchise that is one of the biggest under Warner Bros. After he lost the Libel trial against the British tabloid that called and proved him to be a wife beater, the studio cut ties with him instantly. He announced his exit from the Fantastic Beasts franchise and hearts were broken.
Soon, Mads Mikkelsen took the job and played Gellert in the recently released Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore. While the reception of the movie was mixed, the actor now talks about replacing Johnny Depp and has even hinted at the Pirates Of The Caribbean star’s comeback. Read on to know everything you should know about the same.
As per Deadline, Mads Mikkelsen was at the Sarajevo Film Festival to collect his Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award. It was in one of the discussions at the festival that he was asked about replacing Johnny Depp and whether the star returns to his ex-franchise or not. “It was very intimidating,” said Mikkelsen. “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. Having said that, I could not copy it.”
Mads Mikkelsen added, “There’s there was no way I could just copy it, because it’s so much him. 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. 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.”
Johnny Depp now prepares to return to the big screen with the French movie La Favourite. The star is also trying his hands at the direction for the first time in 25 years for a movie backed by the legendary Al Pacino.
