Johnny Depp dumped from Fantastic Beasts film franchise

Johnny Depp has been dumped from the Fantastic Beasts film franchise, days after losing a libel case over a newspaper article which called him a wife-beater.

In a letter to fans, Depp said he had been asked to resign from his role as Gellert Grindelwald and had respected that and agreed to that request.

He called the libel judgement surreal and confirmed his plans to appeal.

Film studio Warner Bros confirmed Depp's departure and said his role would be recast.

57-year-old Depp had sued the publisher of The Sun newspaper over a 2018 article, which claimed he assaulted his ex-wife Amber Heard.

Earlier this week, Judge Justice Nicol ruled The Sun had proved the article to be substantially true.

Depp made a brief appearance as Grindelwald in 2016's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and reprised his role in 2018's Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.

The films are prequels to the eight Harry Potter films, which were based on the novels by JK Rowling.

[Source: BBC]