Following the new Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore trailer, some fans are very upset Johnny Depp is not in the movie.
Depp played Grindelwald in the Wizarding World movies for the first two films. But, then, Depp lost the role in the franchise over the accusations of his alleged abusive relationship with Amber Heard during their marriage from 2017 to 2020. That case will not go to trial until 2022, but some fans on Twitter have clearly already made up their minds.
The ongoing legal battle is too complex to sum up here, but leave it to Twitter to treat nuance as if it’s black and white. The Twitter mob is absolutely going ham defending Johnny Depp and voicing their displeasure that Mads Mikkelsen replaced the actor for the threequel, following appearances in the previous two Fantastic Beasts films.
Whether or not all this Twitter backlash will result in any significant drop in box office return for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore remains to be seen. But, as a rule, internet boycotts usually have minimal impact on such things.
With Mikkelsen cast in place of Depp for Grindelwald, there’s still definite star power and fan-following that can boost the film.
