Johnny Depp said Warner Bros. asked him to step down from the “Fantastic Beasts” series because the studio effectively wanted him to retire, recounting that he responded, “F— you. There’s far too many of me to kill.” The remarks were made in a newly published interview with The Telegraph that appeared this week. The actor was removed from the role of dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald in November 2020, the day after he lost a U.K. libel suit against the tabloid The Sun. Under a pay-or-play deal, Warner Bros. paid Depp a reported $16 million even though he had filmed only one scene for the third movie, later released as “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” in March 2022. Mads Mikkelsen took over the part for the film, which grossed $407 million worldwide—less than half the $812 million earned by the franchise’s 2016 opener. Warner Bros. has since paused further installments, while Depp, fresh from winning a separate U.S. defamation case in 2022, is pursuing new projects including the Lionsgate action comedy “Day Drinker.”