In 2020, Johnny Depp announced via Instagram that Warner Bros. had asked him to "resign" from Fantastic Beasts. This came after following their messy divorce. eventually left the movie with taking over his role as Gellert Grindelwald.

But after , Mikkelsen teased that he "might" return to the franchise. Here's what he feels about the actor possibly reprising his role.

Inside Johnny Depp's Graceful Exit From Fantastic Beasts

Depp respectfully stepped down from when Warner Bros. had asked him to. "I wish to let you know that I have been asked to resign by Warner Bros. from my role as Grindelwald in and I have respected and agreed to that request," he wrote on Instagram in November 2020. The studio also thanked the actor for his work in the film. "Johnny Depp will depart the franchise. We thank Johnny for his work on the films to date," their spokesperson said in a statement back then. "is currently in production, and the role of Gellert Grindelwald will be recast. The film will debut in theaters worldwide in the summer of 2022."

Depp also seemed optimistic in his statement after losing his "wife-beater" libel case against UK publication, . He thanked his fans for their "support and loyalty," and said that he was "humbled and moved" by their "many messages of love and concern." Then after announcing his exit from , he said that he was going to appeal his case to debunk the misconceptions about him in Hollywood at the time.

"The surreal [judgment] of the court in the U.K. will not change my fight to tell the truth and I confirm that I plan to appeal," wrote . "My resolve remains strong and I intend to prove that the allegations against me are false. My life and career will not be defined by this moment in time."

Madds Mikkelsen Said Replacing Johnny Depp In Fantastic Beasts Was "Chaotic"

Speaking to in April 2022, Mikkelsen revealed that producers only gave him two days to decide on replacing Depp as Grindelwald. "It was quite chaotic," he recalled, adding that he binged the two films right away and thought the script for was "a great story." He also noted: "You don't want to copy anything [Depp was] doing — that would be creative suicide. Even if [a role has] been done to perfection, you want to make it your own. But you still have to build some sort of bridge between what came before."

That's also why he didn't pull the same eye thing as Depp's Grindelwald. "We didn't really focus too much on the eye thing, no pun intended," said the star. "In general, doing something to an actor's face will often end up being something with the eye for a number of reasons: It's recognizable, they're the windows to the soul, it's easy to control while a prosthetic piece often will crack or fall off, and, finally, it's cool."

. director David Yates previously said the same thing. "Mads has an extraordinary range, he can be terrifying as well as vulnerable, and he's sexy," he told . "I wanted Mads to explore a version of Grindelwald that suited his strengths as an actor — and that inevitably meant a departure from what Johnny brought to the role."

What Mads Mikkelsen Feels About Johnny Depp's Potential Return To Fantastic Beasts

In a new interview with , following his win in his defamation trial against Heard. "It was very intimidating," the star said of replacing the first Grindelwald. "Obviously, well, now the course has changed—he won the suit, the court [case]—so let's see if he comes back. He might." He also noted that he's "a big fan of Johnny" so it seems like he wouldn't mind handing him back the role.

"I think he's an amazing actor, I think he did a fantastic job," Mikkelsen said of Depp. "Having said that, I could not copy it. 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."

He also acknowledged the fans' sentiments about Depp's exit from the franchise. "So, yes, it was intimidating," he continued. "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."