Despite Depp's claims, the court found in favor of NGN and Wooton. Related: Everything We Know About Fantastic Beasts 4The biggest reason why Depp left as Grindelwald stemmed from the libel lawsuit against NGN. had concerns over how Depp's ongoing controversy would impact Fantastic Beasts 3 and the Johnny Depp Grindelwald character, but the actor remained attached to the project all the way through to the beginning of production in September 2020, filming one scene for the movie, before departing in November 2020. The Grindelwald actor claimed that not only were Heard's allegations lies but that she had been the abuser in the relationship and that she had orchestrated a 'hoax.' Later that same year, it was reported that Warner Bros. The discussion of the actor continued to dominate talk about the movie long before and up to its release, with even some talk of a boycott, as reported by Digital Spy - Rowling herself admitted that 'there will be those who are not satisfied with our choice of actor in the title role.' While WB, Rowling, and director David Yates stuck behind their decision to cast the Johnny Depp Grindelwald character, the backlash only intensified in the lead-up to the second movie's release, especially after it was titled Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, ensuring Depp's dark wizard would play a very central role. Based on our understanding of the circumstances, 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.' I understand why some have been confused and angry about why that didn’t happen.

As David Yates, long-time Potter director, has already said, we naturally considered the possibility of recasting. Harry Potter fans had legitimate questions and concerns about our choice to continue with Johnny Depp in the role.

'.Around the time of filming his cameo in the first movie, stories had appeared in the press that deeply concerned me and everyone most closely involved in the franchise.

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