The actor Johnny Depp, who portrayed the villain Gellert Grindelwald in the two first films from the Fantastic Beasts series, announced this Friday, 6, that he has left the role on Warner Bros. Pictures request.
According to Variety, a new actor will be chosen for the role and the third film of the series, which was expected to premiere in November 2021, will hit the theaters between June and August of 2022.
Johnny Depp wrote a letter on his Instagram to reveal the decision. In the text, he informed that he had agreed with the request from the studio and thanked the fans who supported him.
The decision was revealed days after the judge of his libel case against the British tabloid The Sun declared that he had lost the case. The actor will appeal this decision.
“The surreal judgment of the court in the U.K. will not change my fight to tell the truth and I confirm that I plan to appeal”, wrote Depp.
Fantastic Beasts 3
Written by J. K. Rowling and Steve Kloves, Fantastic Beasts 3 will take the story to Brazil and Germany.
After the pause due to Covid-19 pandemic, the filming restarted in September, in the Leavesden Studios, in England. The shooting is authorized by the British Government since June.
The film, directed by David Yates, brings Eddie Redmayne (Newt Scamander), Katherine Waterston (Tina Goldstein), Alison Sudol (Queenie Goldstein), and Dan Fogler (Jacob Kowalski) back, in addition to Jude Law as Professor Albus Dumbledore.