Fact Check: Was Johnny Depp in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them? 

As Johnny Depp’s sensationalized defamation trial has come to an end, netizens continue to be perplexed about the film roles the actor was fired from. The successful 58-year-old was shot down from several projects after allegations of domestic violence were made against him by his ex-wife Amber Heard. However, the internet now celebrates Depp’s legal win in court.

Johnny Depp is best known in Hollywood for playing eccentric roles in fantasy movies. The star was cast as Gellert Grindelwald in the first Fantastic Beasts movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. He played the much-feared dark wizard. David Yates, the movie’s director described Depp’s character as:

“More sophisticated and can seduce anybody with what he wants to do. He’s a compelling speaker and he’s playing a longer, cleverer, more dangerous game than the obvious, and therefore in some ways is perhaps to be more feared than Voldemort.”

Along with appearing in the first film of the series, Johnny Depp also played a central role in the second part of the series, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.

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Why was Johnny Depp cast out of the Fantastic Beasts series?

A still from Fantastic Beasts (Image via Warner Bros.)

The Pirates of the Caribbean star was in the midst of filming the third instalment of the fan-favourite series. However, in 2020 Warner Bros. chairman Toby Emmerich made the executive decision to remove the actor from the project. This came after the British tabloid The Sun won a legal battle against Johnny Depp, where the news publication labelled him as a “wife-beater.”

The Sun’s article calling him a “wife-beater” was published when Depp’s ex-wife Amber heard had filed for divorce and had taken a temporary restraining order against Depp in May 2016, where she alleged that he was physically and verbally abusive towards her in the course of their relationship.

Johnny Depp has vehemently denied the allegations to this day.

Warner Bros. made the decision to recast Johnny Depp as the domestic violence allegations could lead to a PR disaster for the upcoming Fantastic Beasts film. Along with Warner Media making the decision to recast the actor, AT&T also influenced the decision. Reports from Hollywood Reporter stated that Johnny Depp was still paid his full salary for the film, which was estimated to be $16 million despite shooting only one scene for the movie. The production had to pay the actor as he was on a “pay or play” contract which meant that he was to be paid regardless of whether the film was released or not.

After the actor was cast out of the film, Mads Mikkelsen took on the role of Gellert Grindelwald. Speaking of taking on the role, which was initially Depp’s, Mikkelsen said in an interview:

“I know it was controversial for many people, but that's just the way it plays out once in a while. I didn't want to copy what Johnny had done. I think he's a masterful actor, so copying him would've been creative suicide. I had to figure out something that was definitely my own, and yet also act as a bridge to what he had done. My take is different, and the look is a little different.”

After Depp won his recent defamation trial against Amber Heard, it was reported that he was cast as King Louis XV in the movie Jeanne Du Barry. The movie is expected to start filming in the summer of this year. Depp is also expected to work on an album with musician Jeff Beck, which is expected to be released this year as well.