Depp dropped from 'Fantastic Beasts' after losing 'wife beater' case

By Lisa Richwine and Jill Serjeant

 

Actor Johnny Depp attends the British premiere of 'Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald' movie in London, Britain, November 13, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo

 

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Johnny Depp on Friday was forced out of the "Fantastic Beasts" movie franchise days after losing a libel case in Britain against a tabloid that branded him a "wife beater."

 

The A-list actor, writing on Instagram, said that AT&T Inc's <T.N> Warner Bros movie studio had asked him to leave his role as villain Gellert Grindelwald. "I have respected and agreed to that request," he said.

 

Warner Bros said in a statement that Depp "will depart the 'Fantastic Beasts' franchise," and that his role would be recast.

 

Depp recently resumed production on the third film in the spinoff from "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling. Warner Bros said on Friday its release date had been pushed back to summer 2022 from November 2021.

 

Rowling - herself a survivor of domestic abuse - declined to comment on Depp's departure.

 

His exit marked a relatively rare move by Hollywood to recast an actor on ethical grounds.

 

Kevin Spacey's role in "All the Money in the World" was reshot with Christopher Plummer in 2017 after Spacey was accused by more than 20 men of sexual misconduct. Spacey has not commented since making an apology to his first accuser.

 

Charlie Sheen was fired in 2011 from television's top-rated "Two and a Half Men" after months of drink and drug-fueled partying. He was replaced by Ashton Kutcher.

 

Depp, 57, who plans to appeal the London libel judgment, wrote that his "life and career will not be defined by this moment."

 

The "Pirates of the Caribbean" star had sued the publishers of the Sun newspaper after it said he had been violent toward former wife Amber Heard, 34. The newspaper also questioned his casting in the "Fantastic Beasts" franchise.

 

The three-week libel trial in July heard evidence from both Depp and Heard about a tempestuous marriage marked by violence on both sides and of heavy drinking by Depp. The judge on Monday ruled against Depp.

 

Rowling had come under fire in 2017 for casting Depp in the first "Fantastic Beasts" movie after initial details of his 2016 divorce from Heard were made public.

 

Rowling said at the time that the circumstances of the divorce were a private matter. Warner Bros. also said in 2017 that it supported to decision to keep Depp.

 

"Fantastic Beasts," based on the magical adventures of Newt Scamander, is set some 60 years before the "Harry Potter" films but features several of the same key characters when they were younger.

 

The first two of five planned films earned $1.5 billion at the global box office, according to Box Office Mojo.

 

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine and Jill Serjeant in Los Angeles; Editing by Matthew Lewis and John Stonestreet)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-11-07

 

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I wonder how many people who would normally watch that movie would not see it with Depp after that court case. I imagine very few.

22 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I wonder how many people who would normally watch that movie would not see it with Depp after that court case. I imagine very few.

It’s the political correctness BS they adhere to, which has gone way over the top in the US. If they hadn’t dropped him, women rights groups would’ve probably been all over them! 

23 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I wonder how many people who would normally watch that movie would not see it with Depp after that court case. I imagine very few.

The last 'Fantastic Beasts' was so bad, I wouldn't watch another anyway.

All the Harry Potter stuff was written for pre-teen girls.

46 minutes ago, LoidLiu said:

That's for sure, it's nothing more than political correctness. Though for me it seems a little one sided. In my opinion it was completely proved that he isn't the one and the only villain in that scandal and dropping him from the role is way too extreme measure.

Yeah, I remember reading something to the tune of a leaked phone conversation of Heard in which she admits that the allegations are false. I’m not 100% positive, though, whether I remember that correctly.

People are weird and only concentrate on what is close to them. What else has WB done that is in an area of human rights violations in other parts of the world, I'm sure plenty. The same with Marvel who wants to tell their people how they must act, but they help take in part with a government that has interned over 1 million Muslims. None of these really care and the political correct people are extremely selfish in what they choose to fight for and who (themselves) choose to fight for.

I Heard this the other day he is on an Amber warning now sent off ????

On 11/7/2020 at 6:31 PM, rooster59 said:

Depp, 57, who plans to appeal the London libel judgment, wrote that his "life and career will not be defined by this moment."

I think it just has !

I have no idea who he is but anyway don't drop the soap.

26 minutes ago, johnray said:

I have no idea who he is but anyway don't drop the soap.

Huh, since when do people go to jail in a defamation case.