“They Wanted Me to Retire” – Johnny Depp Opens Up About His Exit From ‘Fantastic Beasts’ and His Painful Comeback

Johnny Depp is back behind the camera, but this time it’s not for another blockbuster or franchise film. He’s directing a movie again for the first time in two decades, and it means more to him than ever.

The film is Modìgliani: Three Days on the Wing of Madness, based on the life of Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani. Set in Paris in 1916, the story follows three days in the artist’s wild and troubled life. Depp isn’t just directing, he’s fighting to reclaim a career that, for a while, seemed completely out of reach.

In an interview with The Sunday Times, Depp finally opened up about being pushed out of Hollywood, especially when he was asked to step down from Fantastic Beasts, part of the Harry Potter spin-off series. After losing a libel case in 2020 related to abuse allegations made by his ex-wife Amber Heard, Depp says Warner Bros. told him to resign, after he had already started filming.

“It literally stopped in a millisecond,” he said. “They said we’d like you to resign. But what was really in my head was they wanted me to retire.” His response? “F— you. There’s far too many of me to kill. If you think you can hurt me more than I’ve already been hurt you’re gravely mistaken.”

Depp’s years in court were long and brutal. First, there was a failed libel case against The Sun newspaper, which called him a “wife beater.” Then came the 2022 U.S. defamation trial against Heard, which he won. But by then, years of his life had been consumed by lawsuits, press battles, and losing major roles.

Still, Depp says he had to fight. “I fought it because had I not then I wouldn’t have been me,” he said. “Of course everyone tells you, ‘Don’t do it. You’re crazy.’” But for Depp, it was personal. “If the allegation made against me – a lie! – was going to be the deciding factor of whether or not I have the capability of making movies in Hollywood? F— you.”

His pain doesn’t only come from his legal troubles. Depp spoke about his childhood, too, and the abuse he says he suffered at the hands of his mother, Betty Sue. “She beat me with a f—— stick, a f—— shoe, an ashtray, a phone, it didn’t matter, man,” he said. “But I thank her for that. She taught me how not to raise kids.”

Now at 62, Depp is focusing on what he says he loves most, telling stories. Everyone on set insists that Modìgliani isn’t a vanity project or a calculated comeback. They say he’s fully committed to the film and passionate about it.

And it looks like more films are coming. Depp is rumored to be reuniting with director Terry Gilliam for The Carnival at the End of Days. He’s also set to work with The Amazing Spider-Man director Marc Webb on Day Drinker, where he’ll share the screen again with Penélope Cruz.

There was a time when many believed Depp’s career might be over. Now, he’s proving otherwise. “Going through all that in real time amounted to seven or eight years,” he said. “It was a harsh, painful internal journey. Would I rather not have gone through something like that? Absolutely. But I learnt far more than I ever dreamed I could.”

Johnny Depp may not be back in Fantastic Beasts, but he’s not done. Not even close.

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