Harry Potter creator JK Rowling on Thursday safeguarded the choice to cast Johnny Depp in the following Fantastic Beasts motion picture, after a reaction from fans miserable about the conditions of the on-screen character’s current separation.
In an announcement on her own site, Rowling said movie producers had considered recasting the part of miscreant Gellert Grindelwald for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, the spin-off of 2016’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
In any case, she said the conditions of Depp’s separation from performing artist Amber Heard a year ago were private and ought to be regarded.
The Warner Bros motion picture, due to be discharged in November 2018, is the second of an arranged five motion picture spinoff establishment from the blockbuster Harry Potter films.
Jude Law as Dumbledore and haziness ahead: our first take a gander at Fantastic Beasts 2
It really isn’t too late to replace Johnny Depp, guys. https://t.co/yE7ltZLI9L
— kateyrich (@kateyrich) November 16, 2017
“Harry Potter fans had legitimate questions and concerns about our choice to continue with Johnny Depp in the role,” Rowling wrote.
“The agreements that have been put in place to protect the privacy of two people, both of whom have expressed a desire to get on with their lives, must be respected.
“The filmmakers and I are not only comfortable sticking with our original casting, but genuinely happy to have Johnny playing a major character in the movies,” Rowling said.
Depp’s marriage to Heard ended in divorce amid Heard’s allegations of domestic abuse.
After reaching a private settlement in August 2016, the couple issued a joint statement saying their relationship was “intensely passionate and at times volatile but always bound by love,” and that there was “never any intent of physical or emotional harm”.
Warner Bros said in an announcement on Thursday that it upheld the choice to keep Depp. Executive David Yates and maker David Heyman likewise said in a joint proclamation that while perceiving “the magnitude of the issues raised” they stood by the decision to cast Depp.
Yates also defended the casting of Depp last month, saying he was “full of decency and kindness” in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
“There’s an issue at the moment where there’s a lot of people being accused of things, they’re being accused by multiple victims, and it’s compelling and frightening,” he said. “With Johnny, it seems to me there was one person who took a pop at him and claimed something … Whatever accusation was out there doesn’t tally with the kind of human being I’ve been working with.”
Depp’s agents did not quickly react to a demand for input on Thursday.