Johnny Depp is now entirely out of the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise after its director, reportedly, found the perfect actor to replace him.
Earlier this month, Johnny Depp revealed that Warner Bros asked him to give up his role as Grindelwald. In response to this, the actor agreed and respected their decision.
“I wish to let you know that I have been asked to resign by Warner Bros from my role as Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts, and I have respected and agreed to that request,” Depp wrote.
It put an end to his four-year stint as the franchise’s main antagonist.
While it has only been days since he gave up the role, David Yates and Warner Bros reportedly found the replacement already.
Who replaced Johnny Depp?
Initially, Indie Wire revealed that Warner Bros wants Grindelwald’s role to be recast.
According to Deadline, Yates now eyes Mads Mikkelsen to join the team. The sources said that they are already in early talks with the actor.
Like Depp, Mikkelsen has a number of award-winning movies like Hannibal, The Hunt, and The Clash of the Titans.
Yates is also desperate to cast someone as soon as possible to meet their summer 2022 release deadline.
Meanwhile, they continue to film the scenes even without Grindelwald. Currently, Eddie Redmayne and Jude Law shoot the other parts of the film.
No confirmation has been released yet as of the moment.
Depp, despite leaving the film, will still get his over $10 million paycheck.
Fans want Depp back
Amid these updates, fans launched two petitions again. One is to support Depp, and the other is to remove Amber Heard from Aquaman 2.
Lepplady created Bring Johnny Depp back to Fantastic Beasts and Remove Amber Heard from Aquaman 2 this year.
“Let’s send WB the message that we DO support not just Johnny Depp but every survivor of domestic support, including Men. Demand that Warner Bros do the right thing brings back Johnny Depp back in his iconic role of Gellart Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.”
Over 120,000 users already signed on the petition — a few thousand left toward their 150,000 signatures goal.
Meanwhile, the appeal to remove Heard from Aquaman 2 already has 935,000 signatures out of 1 million goal.
“Warner Brothers and DC Entertainment should and must remove Heard from their Aquaman 2 film project. They must not ignore the suffering of Heard’s victims, and must not glamorize a domestic abuser,” the user writes.
Featured image courtesy of matsubokkuri, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons