Johnny Depp Has Announced That He's Parted Ways With The FANTASTIC BEASTS Franchise

In light of his recent legal troubles, Johnny Depp has sent out a statement revealing that Warner Bros. has asked him to "resign" from the role of Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts movie series...

By MarkCassidy - Nov 06, 2020 08:11 AM EST

Filed Under: Harry Potter

It looks like Warner Bros. will soon be searching for a new actor to play the villainous Gellert Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, as Johnny Depp has announced that he's stepped away from the role.

The actor sent out a statement, confirming that he's been asked to "resign" from playing the character by Warner Bros. Though he doesn't specify the reason here, this comes just days after Depp lost a libel case against British tabloid The Sun, who labelled him a "wife-beater" in a 2019 article.

Depp has been embroiled in messy legal proceedings with ex wife Amber Heard (Aquaman), who accused him of domestic abuse.

"In light of recent events, I would like to make the following short statement," Depp begins. "Firstly, I’d like to thank everybody who has gifted me with their support and loyalty. I have been humbled and moved by your many messages of love and concern, particularly over the last few days."

"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," he adds, before going on to say that "the surreal judgement of the court in the U.K. will not change my fight to tell the truth, and I confirm that I plan to appeal. My resolve remains strong and I intend to prove that the allegations against me are false. My life and career will not be defined by this moment in time."

You can check out his Instagram post for yourselves below.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Johnny Depp (@johnnydepp) on Nov 6, 2020 at 8:15am PST

Warner Bros. has since followed up by confirming that the role of Grindelwald will indeed be recast for the third movie, which is currently in production. It has now been pushed to 2022, however.

"Johnny Depp will depart the Fantastic Beasts franchise. We thank Johnny for his work on the films to date. Fantastic Beasts 3 is currently in production, and the role of Gellert Grindelwald will be recast. The film will debut in theaters worldwide in the summer of 2022."

They could always bring Colin Farrell back!

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200 Comments

1 2 3 4 5

tmp3 - 11/6/2020, 8:42 AM

Just cancel these movies, lol

JustALurker - 11/6/2020, 8:48 AM

@tmp3 - yeah, nobody's watching them anyway.

Spidey91 - 11/6/2020, 8:42 AM

maybe now they'll kill this "saga" nobody cares about.

newmutantsRETURNS - 11/6/2020, 8:42 AM

damn Johnny....what a fail lol

tmp3 - 11/6/2020, 8:43 AM

Also, does this mean Ezra Miller and Amber Heard are next? :D

Battabing - 11/6/2020, 8:43 AM

@tmp3 - Nope.

JustALurker - 11/6/2020, 8:49 AM

@tmp3 - nah, they'll be front and center now

marvel72 - 11/6/2020, 8:43 AM

Because men are always wrong. Lol

Battabing - 11/6/2020, 8:46 AM

@marvel72 - I think they're both crazy and toxic, but Depp's problem is that he can't recount what he may have done to Amber because he was blasted out of his mind.

This whole thing just made him look worse.

Origame - 11/6/2020, 9:11 AM

@Battabing - but what proof do we have other than neck marks even friends admit they didnt see her with them the day the picture was taken?

Battabing - 11/6/2020, 9:58 AM

@Origame - Does Amber have long hair? Makeup? A woman can put on a master class on how to cover a bruise.

Even Depp has said that he can't remember what happened because of his drug and alcohol addictions. Their friends weren't with them 24/7.

Battabing - 11/6/2020, 8:43 AM

Toby Emmerich, y'all.

tmp3 - 11/6/2020, 8:58 AM

@Battabing - Not really. He hasn't done anything about the lead of his Flash film choking women or the co-star of Aquaman being accused of domestic abuse. WB also has a film directed by Mel Gibson coming soon, lmfao

Battabing - 11/6/2020, 9:48 AM

@tmp3 - Well, Depp just got torpedoed by the verdict of this lawsuit which, by the way, keeps him off the set of his films. Now, he has another lawsuit getting ready to take off.

1 2 3 4 5

Johnny Depp Has Announced That He's Parted Ways With The FANTASTIC BEASTS Franchise

In light of his recent legal troubles, Johnny Depp has sent out a statement revealing that Warner Bros. has asked him to "resign" from the role of Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts movie series...

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