Film

Johnny Depp Has Been Made To Quit His Role As Grindelwald In The ‘Fantastic Beasts’ Series

by Joseph Earp  7 November 2020
The Crimes Of Grindelwald box office

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Johnny Depp has today announced that he has been asked to leave the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them franchise.

The news comes shortly after Depp lost a libel suit against The Sun. Back in 2018, the English newspaper ran a story in which they referred to the actor as a “wife beater”, re-printing allegations made by Depp’s ex-wife Amber Heard.

“I wish to let you know that i have been asked to resign by Warner Bros. from my role as Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts and I have respected and agreed to that request,” Depp writes.

Later in the note, which was posted to Instagram, the actor calls the ruling by the UK court “surreal.” He also says it will not change his “fight to tell the truth”, and commits to appealing the ruling.

“My resolve remains strong and I intend to prove that the allegations against me are false,” he says. “My life and career will not be defined by this moment in time.”

In a separate statement, as reported by Variety, Warner Bros. say they plan to recast the role of Grindelwald for the next Fantastic Beasts film, which will now come out in 2022.

That recasting job shouldn’t be so difficult. After all, in the first Wizarding World film, the character was portrayed by Colin Farrell. Hopefully the film production company — and JK Rowling — realise how easy it would be to get Farrell back.

As for Rowling, she has been silent on this news. Although it’s worth noting, a mere matter of three years ago, she stood behind the studio’s decision to cast Depp.

What a mess.