Mads Mikkelsen, the actor who replaced Johnny Depp in the Harry Potter spinoff series Fantastic Beasts is of the opinion that the latter could return to franchise once again now that he has won his court case against former wife Amber Heard. Depp had played the character Gellert Grindelwald in the first two movies of the Fantastic Beasts series, namely, Fantastic Beats and Where to Find Them, and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, before being replaced by Mikkelsen in Secrets of Dumbledore.

Also Read| Johnny Depp-Amber Heard trial: 4 things jurors didn’t see or hear

Mikkelsen made these comments during an interactive session at the Sarajevo Film Festival where he was presented with the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award for his contributions to the cinematic art form. The 56-year-old actor also said that he tried to present the character in his own way without imitating Depp’s performance, which is “so much him”.

Mikkelsen admitted to being a fan of Depp, and opined that he might return to the franchise now that he has won his court case, “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”. When asked about his favourite actors, Mikkelsen named Vincent Cassel, Robert de Niro, and Meryl Streep.

Also Read| ‘We remain confident’: Johnny Depp reacts after Amber Heard begins appeal process

Notably, in 2020, after losing his libel case against the English newspaper, The Sun (which had called him a wife beater), Depp had been asked by Warner Brothers to voluntarily quit the project.

The actor was last seen in the 2020 film Minamata, where he played the role of American photojournalist W. Eugene Smith. He has been roped in to star in his first French-language film, La Favourite, which has Netflix as its co-producer. Depp will portray the character of French emperor Louis XV in the project.