J.K. Rowling defends Johnny Depp casting, in face of fan furore

J.K. Rowling has defending the choice to cast Johnny Depp in the ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ movies.

Many fans took to Twitter to vent their anger at the news, after Depp was accused of – but vehemently denied – domestic abuse during the very public divorce proceedings between him and ex-wife Amber Heard.

Rowling said that Depp, who appears briefly in this first movie, had done ‘incredible things’ in his portrayal of the dark wizard Grindelwald.

Asked what she thought of his appointment, she said: “I’m delighted.

“He’s done incredible things with that character.”

Director David Yates told reporters at last night’s premiere in New York that Depp filmed his scenes back in January.

“You have to trust us and see what he does in this movie,” he said.

“You won’t see very much in this movie because he appears in it very fleetingly. He appears much more in the second movie.

“What you have to remember about Johnny is that extraordinary talent and that talent never goes away.

“Hollywood is such a fickle place. People go up and go down.

“He’s a huge Potter fan. He loves the world. He was beyond excited about working on this material. In fact he didn’t even want to see a script, he just said ‘I’m in’.”

As for the speculation that Depp’s Grindelwald and the young Professor Dumbledore will have a gay relationship in future movies, Rowling added: “I can’t tell you everything I’d like to say because obviously it’s a five-part story and there’s lots to unpack in that relationship.

“I will say you’ll see Dumbledore as a younger man and quite a troubled man because he wasn’t always the sage. He was always very clever.

“We’ll see him at what I think was the formative period of his life. As far as his sexuality is concerned, watch this space.”

The movie, starring Eddie Redmayne, is out across the UK on November 18.

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