diff --git a/src/main/java/org/mockito/internal/stubbing/defaultanswers/ReturnsDeepStubs.java b/src/main/java/org/mockito/internal/stubbing/defaultanswers/ReturnsDeepStubs.java
index 27faed9..1719104 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/mockito/internal/stubbing/defaultanswers/ReturnsDeepStubs.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/mockito/internal/stubbing/defaultanswers/ReturnsDeepStubs.java
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ public class ReturnsDeepStubs implements Answer<Object>, Serializable {
         MockCreationSettings<?> mockSettings = MockUtil.getMockSettings(invocation.getMock());
 
         Class<?> rawType = returnTypeGenericMetadata.rawType();
-        final var emptyValue = ReturnsEmptyValues.returnCommonEmptyValueFor(rawType);
+        final Object emptyValue = ReturnsEmptyValues.returnCommonEmptyValueFor(rawType);
         if (emptyValue != null) {
             return emptyValue;
         }