The ironic thing about the whole Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard situation is that, while the divorced couple are at each other’s throats in court, they both play key supporting roles in two of Warner Bros.’ biggest franchises. Considering the hit to their public image that they’ve taken over their legal battle, there’s been a lot of speculation that they could end up losing these gigs. The latest news on the topic, though, proves this is definitely not the case.
As Deadline writes, Depp has requested that his $50 million defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife be postponed to accommodate the shoot for Fantastic Beasts 3, thereby confirming that he’ll be back as chief villain Gellert Grindelwald in the threequel. Filming has been long delayed on the project, but production is finally set to begin in October and last until February, chiefly in London. The lawsuit, however, is currently scheduled for January 11th-28th, 2021.
Depp is now asking for the trial to be pushed back until sometime between March and June 2021. Here’s how the official request goes:
“When the Court set the current trial date in this case, Mr. Depp understood that Warner Bros. planned to shoot ‘Fantastic Beasts 3’ in London long before January 11, 2021. COVID-19 disrupted the studio’s plans, causing repeated postponements. With conditions in London having improved somewhat, Warner Bros. has now set a shooting schedule that conflicts with the trial date in this case.”
Depp has appeared as Grindelwald in both installments of the Wizarding World spinoff series to date, though he only had a brief cameo at the end of the first one – 2016’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – after Colin Farrell’s Gustave Graves was revealed to be the dark wizard in disguise. 2018’s Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald then bumped him up to a leading role, with the film leaving him still at large by the end.
Deadline also notes that Amber Heard is expected to reprise her role as Mera in Aquaman 2, which is shooting next year ahead of its release in 2022. By the sounds of it, then, it seems the fallout from their legal troubles isn’t enough for WB to cut ties with either Johnny Depp or his ex-wife just yet.
