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UPDATED: Johnny Depp Announces Departure from “Fantastic Beasts” Franchise, Third Movie Pushed Back to 2022

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Johnny Depp, who plays Gellert Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, has announced he has resigned from the series.

In a post on his Instagram account, Depp stated that he was asked by Warner Bros. to resign from his role in the untitled Fantastic Beasts 3 movie and that he agreed.

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Johnny Depp (@johnnydepp) on

 

This comes after Depp lost his libel court case on Monday against the Sun newspaper for labeling him a “wife beater.” The judge found the Sun‘s allegations to be “substantially true” and said that 12 of the 14 alleged instances of domestic violence against his ex-wife, Amber Heard, had occurred.

Depp insists that the allegations are false and says that he plans to appeal the decision. In his Instagram post, he thanked those who have supported him so far and stated, “My life and career will not be defined by this moment in time.”

He also has an ongoing court case in the United States, suing Heard for an article she wrote in the Washington Post that implied he was violent toward her.

According to Variety, Warner Bros. confirmed the departure, stating that the role of Gellert Grindelwald will be recast and the release date for Fantastic Beasts 3 will be pushed back to the summer of 2022.

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UPDATE (November 9): 

According to a new report, the new release date for Fantastic Beasts 3 will be July 15, 2022.

 

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I was given a copy of Philosopher's Stone in 2001, and instantly, I was hooked. Since then, my passion for Potter has been equaled only by my passion for fair access to education (and watching motorsport). A spell I wish could exist in the Muggle world is the summoning charm because this Hufflepuff is not a "particularly good finder"!