Actor Johnny Depp is officially removed from the Fantastic Beasts franchise after he was asked to resign by Warner Bros. Depp announced the decision of the studio in a short statement posted on his Instagram account.
Depp is out of the franchise
The announcement came just days after he lost his libel case against the tabloid The Sun over claims that he abused his ex-wife actress Amber Heard.
Depp wrote on his Instagram account that he was asked to resign by Warner Bros. from his role as Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts and he respects their decision and agreed to follow their request.
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The actor then followed the news with an insistence on his innocence and promised to continue his legal battle against Heard to prove it. He wrote that the court's surreal judgment in the UK would not change his fight, to tell the truth, and he confirmed that he has a plan to appeal.
Depp added that his resolve remains strong, and he intends to prove that the allegations against him are all false. He also said that he does not want his life and career to be defined by this moment.
Warner Bros. also confirmed the news in a statement that details that Depp's role of the villainous Grindelwald will be recast.
Depp's libel case
Just earlier this week, the actor lost his libel case against The Sun after he was called a "wife-beater" in one of the tabloid's headlines. This happened following the stories of alleged physical abuse against Heard.
The judge who read the decision said that he found that the great majority of alleged assaults' of Heard by Depp have been proven to the civil standard.
The third Fantastic Beasts movie production was set to begin in March 2020, but it was postponed after the start of the pandemic.
Production commenced in September with additional safety precautions due to COVID-19, and it is not clear whether Depp filmed any scenes during that time alongside actors Eddie Redmayne and Jude Law.
The second film of the franchise released in 2018 "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald" was considered a box office disappointment. It only made $564 million worldwide, considered the lowest total of any film within the Harry Potter universe.
Depp's reprise of his role in the second film led to massive backlash at the time but was defended by author JK Rowling. Rowling said that they understood the circumstances but stuck with their original casting. She also expressed her happiness to have Depp play a major character in the movies.
Depp's most recent performance in the drama Minamata, where he played war photographer W Eugene Smith, premiered this year at the Berlin film festival to middling reviews. The actor was also rumored to return to the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise alongside Margot Robbie, but no other future acting credits were confirmed.
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard got married in 2015 after working together in the film "The Rum Diary" back in 2009.
According to Insider, in 2016, Heard filed a domestic violence lawsuit and settled for $7 million, all of which she donated to charity. In 2017, their divorce was finalized.
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