Johnny Depp On ‘Fantastic Beasts’ Recasting: “They Wanted Me To Retire”
WARNER BROS STUDIO, JUL 8 – Johnny Depp was fired from the Fantastic Beasts franchise after losing a UK libel trial, costing Warner Bros $16 million and leading to Depp’s ongoing legal battles.
- In November 2020, Warner Bros. announced Johnny Depp would depart the Fantastic Beasts franchise and thanked him for his work on the films to date.
- This outcome came after Depp was unsuccessful in a 2020 defamation case in the United Kingdom concerning abuse claims made by Amber Heard, prompting Warner Bros. to request that he step down from his role as Grindelwald.
- Depp respected and agreed to the request to resign, recalling he was told, "They said we'd like you to resign," and that the franchise stopped "in a millisecond" while he was filming.
- Depp's salary for the third Fantastic Beasts film was reportedly $16 million, which the studio paid despite recasting the role with Mads Mikkelsen, who starred in the 2022 release The Secrets of Dumbledore.
- After emerging largely victorious in his 2022 defamation trial against Heard, Mikkelsen stated Depp could potentially reprise the role, implying the franchise's future remains uncertain.
16 Articles
16 Articles
Johnny Depp Reflects On 'Fantastic Beasts' Exit & Recasting Nearly 5 Years Later: 'F--k You'
Johnny Depp is looking back at being asked to "resign" from his role as Gellert Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts franchise. Amid abuse allegations from his ex-wife Amber Heard, in 2018, the actor filed suit against The Sun after he was referred to as a "wife-beater." After he lost the UK trial in November 2020, Warner Bros. asked Depp to exit the Harry Potter prequel series. Before he stepped own, he had only shot one scene for the third inst…
Johnny Depp Shares What He Really Thought When Warner Bros. Booted Him From 'Fantastic Beasts': 'F--k You'
Johnny Depp had one concise thought when Warner Bros. asked him to step down from his role as Grindelwald in the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise: “F–k you.” In a conversation with The Telegraph published Saturday, Depp explained how he was being pushed out of the “Harry Potter” prequel spinoff as he lost his very public libel trial against The Sun in the U.K. after the paper described him as a “wife beater.” He was asked to “retire” from the role f…
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