Johnny Depp has announced he is exiting the Fantastic Beasts movie franchise and will no longer be playing Gellert Grindelwald. On his Instagram, Depp shared that he was “asked to resign by Warner Bros.” and that he has “respected and agreed to that request.” You can see the rest of Depp’s statement via his post below:
View this post on Instagram
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The third movie in the franchise is currently filming in the UK. According to Variety, Warner Bros. has confirmed Depp’s departure and shared the following statement:
“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.”
The news comes days after Depp lost his libel case against The Sun publisher News Group Newspapers and the tabloid’s executive editor Dan Wootton over a 2018 article that alleged Depp was a “wife beater.” Depp shared on Instagram that he will appeal the ruling.
Fantastic Beasts 3 will again feature the return of Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander, Katherine Waterston as Tina Goldstein, Dan Fogler as Jacob Kowalski, Alison Sudol as Queenie Goldstein, Ezra Miller as Credence, Jude Law as Albus Dumbledore, and Jessica Williams as Professor Eulalie Hicks.
The third installment will again be directed by David Yates from a screenplay written by J.K. Rowling and Steve Kloves. It is slated to hit the theaters on November 12, 2021.
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The previous film in the Harry Potter prequel franchise, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, earned $653 million at the worldwide box office. The first two Fantastic Beasts movies were directed by David Yates, from a screenplay by J.K. Rowling, and produced by David Heyman, J.K. Rowling, Steve Kloves, and Lionel Wigram.
