Johnny Depp revealed on Friday that he was asked to resign from his role as Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts movie franchise following a decision by a UK court to decline Depp's defamation lawsuit and failing to strip himself of a "wife-beater" libel that had been given to him by The Sun.
Having expressed gratitude to fans for support, Depp went confirmed that he agreed to step down as Grindelwald, adding that he intends to appeal the UK court judgement.
"Secondly, 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 that and agreed to that request", he wrote on Instagram. "Finally I wish to say this. The surreal judgement of the court in the UK will not change my fight to tell the truth and I confirm that I plan to appeal. My resolve remains strong and I intend to prove that the allegations against me are false. My life and career will not be defined by this moment in time".
The studio released a separate statement, saying: "Johnny Depp will depart the Fantastic Beasts franchise. We thank Johnny for his work on the films to date. Fantastic Beasts 3 is currently in production, and the role of Gellert Grindelwald will be recast. The film will debut in theatres worldwide in the summer of 2022".
Earlier, Depp's legal team suffered a defeat in the UK courts, where it was judged that the actor "has not succeeded in his action for libel", and not accepting Depp's and other witness testimony that his ex-wife Amber Heard is "nothing more than a gold-digger".
Allegations that Johny Depp physically abused his former wife were brought by Heard in 2013 and 2016. Depp claimed that it was Heard who was violent toward him, as his legal team accused her of fabricating her injuries and complaints.