Johnny Depp Is<br />Forced to Resign From<br />‘Fantastic Beasts’.<br />Depp took to Instagram to <br />make the announcement.<br />I wish to let you know that I have<br />been asked to resign by Warner Bros.<br />from my role as Grindelwald in<br />‘Fantastic Beasts’ and I have respected<br />and agreed to that request, Johnny Depp, via Instagram.<br />Warner Bros. confirmed <br />the news in its own statement, <br />saying Depp's role would be recast.<br />It was also announced that the release date for the <br />third film of the franchise would be pushed back <br />from November 2021 to the summer of 2022.<br />Warner Bros.' decision to drop Depp<br />comes days after he lost his highly-<br />publicized libel case against ‘The Sun.’.<br />The British tabloid wrote an article in 2018 accusing<br />Depp of assaulting his ex-wife, Amber Heard.<br />A judge ruled in favor of ‘The Sun,’ saying the<br />article proved to be “substantially true.”.<br />The assault allegations against<br />Depp have been a point of controversy<br />among ‘Harry Potter’ fans ever since<br />they first came to light.<br />At the time, Warner Bros. and J.K. Rowling defended<br />him, saying they “supported” Depp’s casting.<br />The filmmakers and I are not<br />only comfortable sticking with<br />our original casting, but genuinely<br />happy to have Johnny playing a<br />major character in the movies, J.K. Rowling, via ‘Variety’
