Johnny Depp Ousted From ‘Fantastic Beasts’ Franchise

About a week ago, Johnny Depp posted a memo on his Instagram account saying that Warner Brothers had asked him to step down from his role as Gellert Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, and that he had agreed to leave the role.

This news came on the heels of a British court’s decision in a libel case where Depp had tried to sue a British tabloid for libel, after they called him a “wife beater” in reference to Depp’s toxic marriage to actress Amber Heard. The court found that the tabloid’s assertion that Depp was a “wife beater” was backed up by the evidence, and Warner Brothers subsequently asked Depp to step down from the role. It’s worth acknowledging that this case was only concerning the libel charge, not the alleged abuse. The general consensus seems to be that it was a troubled and toxic relationship, in which both parties contributed plenty of vitriol.

Less than two weeks after Depp announced his departure, it sounds like Warner Brothers may have already found an actor to replace him. Reports seem to suggest that Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen is favored to play Grindelwald in the remaining films.

The filmmakers could go a few directions with this. They’ve already established that Grindelwald is a master of disguise, so they could theoretically explain away why he looks different in the upcoming films by throwing in a quick scene where you see him altering his appearance. However, Mads Mikkelsen actually does have physical similarities to Johnny Depp’s Grindelwald, so perhaps they can pull this off without a hitch and not even acknowledge it.

Even if they pull off the switch seamlessly, the Fantastic Beasts franchise is still a ship on fire. Hopefully they can put out the flames and correct course with the third film, which has now been pushed back until summer of 2022, despite originally being scheduled for release this month. Yeah, a four year gap for a spin off series where fans have no source material to keep them interested. We’ll see how the third movie does, but they’re going to have to make a greatly entertaining film that’s somehow consistent with the original Harry Potter canon while explaining away the seeming plot holes of the first two films in the franchise. I want them to succeed, but I’m not all that hopeful.