After a UK court ruled in favor of The Sun in the libel case that Johnny Depp launched last year, the actor lost his place in the future of the Fantastic Beasts film franchise, sparking a lot of controversy on the internet.
Fearing the backlash and potential bad press for the upcoming threequel to the Wizarding World’s spinoff series, Warner Bros. was quick to replace the Pirates of the Caribbean star with Mads Mikkelsen as Grindelwald. Admittedly, the role wasn’t exactly Depp’s shining moment in the spotlight, considering his rich portfolio, though the event isn’t going to bode well for the actor’s career prospects in the future. This could basically be the starting point of an extensive blacklisting, in fact, which has already plagued the likes of many former A-listers. After all, Hollywood is no stranger to such things.
Though luckily for the American thespian, his legions of supporters are continuously campaigning on social media platforms and other websites to help him through these dark times. As for Fantastic Beasts 3, we recently learned that while Depp only shot one scene for the film, Warner Bros. still has to pay up his salary in full, since his contract included a pay-or-play clause and according to a new report from THR, that sum is a staggering $16 million.
Not too shabby, right? As one of the most in-demand actors ever, Depp is obviously used to paychecks of this magnitude, if not significantly more. But when you consider that the movie isn’t even going to use his name in the marketing campaign, it’s safe to say that this is the easiest money that Captain Jack Sparrow has probably ever made.
