French director Maïwenn is walking back her claim Johnny Depp "scared" her crew on the set of "Jeanne du Barry" ... saying she was misunderstood.

Maïwenn hit back at The Independent after its headline suggested the actor was a terror while shooting her French period drama. She clarified to Variety that she was referring to JD's star power when referring to the crew being scared of the Oscar nominee.

She defended her initial statement, saying, "[I] was shocked when I discovered that the newspaper had headlined that ‘The crew were afraid of [Johnny Depp]’ because written like that, and without its context and subtleties, it absolutely no longer means the same thing. The journalist did not want to grasp the subtlety of my words."

Maïwenn -- who also played Johnny's on-screen love interest -- made it clear he was a charismatic presence on set and his status, especially while playing a king, was impressive to those around him.

The filmmaker compared Johnny to Marlon Brando, saying his genius and suffering made him similar to the late A-lister. She confirmed she did have arguments with Johnny while on set, but said she still respects and admires him at the end of the day.

Bottom line ... Maïwenn says she feels "betrayed" by The Independent article, which quoted her as saying Depp had come to set with several rewrites in the script ... and was insulted when Maïwenn didn't accept his changes.