Johnny Depp leaves Fantastic Beasts Franchise

[Sarah]

Johnny Depp leaves Fantastic Beasts film franchise

The actor says he was "asked to resign" his role in the series and had "agreed to that request".

www.bbc.co.uk

Johnny Depp will no longer appear in the Fantastic Beasts film franchise following his losing a libel case over being labelled a wife beater.

In a letter to fans, Depp said he had been "asked to resign" from his role as Gellert Grindelwald and had "respected that and agreed to that request".

He called the libel judgement "surreal" and confirmed his plans to appeal.

Warner Bros confirmed Depp's departure and said the role in the third Fantastic Beasts film would be recast.

"We thank Johnny for his work on the films to date," it said in a statement.

Depp, 57, sued The Sun's publisher, News Group Newspapers (NGN), over a 2018 article which claimed he assaulted his ex-wife Amber Heard.

Earlier this week Judge Mr Justice Nicol ruled The Sun had proved what was in the article to be "substantially true".

In his letter, posted on Instagram, Depp said the judgement would not "change my fight to tell the truth".
"My resolve remains strong and I intend to prove that the allegations against me are false," he wrote. "My life and career will not be defined by this moment in time."

Depp made a brief appearance as Grindelwald in 2016's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and reprised his role in 2018's Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.

The films are prequels to the eight Harry Potter films based on the novels of JK Rowling.

According to Warner Bros, the third film in the series is in production and will be released in summer 2022.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

This is the state of things today. Amber Heard is a horrible person, has a domestic violence charge against her in the past, has abused assistants, and it was caught on audio Amber admitting that she hits Depp and that he's "a baby" for not fighting back.

Plus, all his exes say he's a mellow guy and not abusive.

In contrast, she has no evidence other than a slew of unsubstantiated accusations and her own toxicity.

But he's the guy.

And some judges today are afraid of issuing a decision that the feminists don't like, for fear of being targeted by them.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

 

[Alexis]

It's horrible. She's horrible. So hideously wrong, so obviously wrong. She's utterly vile, I hope she's blacklisted in Hollywood now. She'll probably go on to win an Oscar for playing the victim.

 

[Willie Oleson]

Regardless of what actually happened between these two people, I found this account of courtroom blunders fascinating to watch.
It's almost like an episode of The Good Wife.