
While WB, Rowling, and director David Yates stuck behind their decision to cast the Johnny Depp Grindelwald character, the backlash only intensified in the lead-up to the second movie's release, especially after it was titled Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, ensuring Depp's dark wizard would play a very central role.

Based on our understanding of the circumstances, the filmmakers and I are not only comfortable sticking with our original casting, but genuinely happy to have Johnny playing a major character in the movies." I understand why some have been confused and angry about why that didn’t happen. As David Yates, long-time Potter director, has already said, we naturally considered the possibility of recasting. Harry Potter fans had legitimate questions and concerns about our choice to continue with Johnny Depp in the role. ".Around the time of filming his cameo in the first movie, stories had appeared in the press that deeply concerned me and everyone most closely involved in the franchise.
