JK Rowling has opened up about her feelings towards casting Johnny Depp in her series Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, revealing that she was "delighted" that the actor would be involved in the franchise.
It has been confirmed that the Edward Scissorhands actor will be playing the role of Grindelwald, a dark wizard who briefly appears in the Harry Potter series, in Jo's latest addition to the magical world.
© Photo: Getty ImagesJo opened up about the decision to cast Johnny Depp as Grindelwald
Speaking at the world premiere of the film in New York City, Jo said: "[Johnny]'s done incredible things with that character."
The film's director David Yates, who previously collaborated with the celebrated author as the director of the final four Harry Potter films, also opened up about the casting decision.
"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.
© Photo: Getty ImagesJohnny is a 'huge' fan of Harry Potter
"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'."
The announcement that the actor would star in the films was met with controversy, with many fans complaining that the star should not have been given the role following his ex-wife Amber Heard accusing him of domestic abuse on two occasions.
The couple eventually settled out of court, and released a joint statement which read: "Our relationship was intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love."
