Johnny Depp, star of the upcoming Harry Potter film, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, and his panel of co-stars turned political, Saturday, calling to “impeach Trump” during the film’s discussion panel at this year’s Comic-Con.
Fans were thrilled when Depp emerged from behind the curtains in full Gellert Grindelwald costume, a shock of spiky blond hair and all, to introduce the trailer for the film, according to Entertainment Weekly.
But some fans in the audience at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con were soured when the panel launched into an anti-Trump tirade.
During the question-and-answer period, the cast on stage was asked what they would do if they had magic in real life. Beasts co-star Zoe Kravitz (who plays Leta Lestrange) quickly piped up and said she would “impeach Trump.” The remark met with some cheers, but not everyone was happy with the diversion into politics.
The Trump derangement syndrome did not end there. Dan Fogler (who portrays Jacob Kowalski) jumped in to joke that his magic word would be “Impeachius Maximus!”
Actor Ezra Miller (Credence Barebone), then jumped in to pander to the #MeToo movement by adding that he would “Smash the patriarchy.”
For his part, Johnny Depp, who did not appear on the panel, but came out later to introduce the trailer, gave a speech from the stage that included a line that is clearly a thinly disguised comment on modern politics. “We who live for freedom or truth, the moment has come to rise up and take our rightful place in the world,” Depp said in character as Gellert Grindelwald.
Indeed, Beasts star Eddie Redmayne (Newt) has said that the evil Grindelwald is somehow a stand-in for Donald Trump.
“I’m enlisted by Dumbledore to try and track him down and capture him,” Redmayne says of his character. “What’s happened is Grindelwald’s belief that purebloods should reign over all non-magical beings is a political thing. He’s rallying more and more people, and it causes divisions across families. He’s pretty hypnotic.”
Last year, Depp raised eyebrows when he wondered aloud “when was the last time an actor assassinated a president?” He was later forced to apologize for the obscene statement.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.