Johnny Depp Is Forced to Resign From ‘Fantastic Beasts’

Johnny Depp Is Forced to Resign From ‘Fantastic Beasts’.

Depp took to Instagram to make the announcement.

I wish to let you know that I have been asked to resign by Warner Bros.

From my role as Grindelwald in ‘Fantastic Beasts’ and I have respected and agreed to that request, Johnny Depp, via Instagram.

Warner Bros.

Confirmed the news in its own statement, saying Depp's role would be recast.

It was also announced that the release date for the third film of the franchise would be pushed back from November 2021 to the summer of 2022.

Warner Bros.'

Decision to drop Depp comes days after he lost his highly- publicized libel case against ‘The Sun.’.

The British tabloid wrote an article in 2018 accusing Depp of assaulting his ex-wife, Amber Heard.

A judge ruled in favor of ‘The Sun,’ saying the article proved to be “substantially true.”.

The assault allegations against Depp have been a point of controversy among ‘Harry Potter’ fans ever since they first came to light.

At the time, Warner Bros.

And J.K.

Rowling defended him, saying they “supported” Depp’s casting.

The filmmakers and I are not only comfortable sticking with our original casting, but genuinely happy to have Johnny playing a major character in the movies, J.K.

Rowling, via ‘Variety’