Following Johnny Depp’s resignation from Fantastic Beasts 3, fans have been left wondering how exactly the studio will replace him. Quickly after the announcement that the role had been left vacant, many called for Colin Farrell, who played a disguised version of Depp’s character Gellert Grindelwald in the first Fantastic Beasts movie, to make a comeback. Sadly, it does not sound like that will be the case due to a scheduling conflict with The Batman, which Farrell has a prominent role as Oswald “Oz” Cobblepot AKA Penguin.
While replacing Johnny Depp with Colin Farrell would have been a very quick and easy solution, it does not sound like this will be possible thanks to both Fantastic Beasts 3 and The Batman having clashing timetables. Both movies were supposed to hit theaters in 2021, November and October respectively, but have been pushed back to July and March 2022. The two tentpole movies are now back to filming, and with production set to continue on both Fantastic Beasts 3 and The Batman into early next year, there will be a clear overlap between the schedules, meaning that Farrell will likely not be available to take on the wizarding world alongside the DC one.
Colin Farrell starred in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them as Percival Graves, a high-ranking Auror and Director of Magical Security for MACUSA, responsible for the protection of wizards, who, in the final moments of the movie, is revealed to be Grindelwald in disguise, transforming into a white-haired Johnny Depp.
Had the two movies not ending up with such similar production schedules, it is possible that Farrell could have been persuaded to return, especially when both projects are overlooked by Warner Bros., but ultimately it looks like this will enter the ether of movie roles that were never meant to be.
Depp revealed that he had resigned from the Fantastic Beasts franchise a few days ago saying in a statement on social media, “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 and agreed to that request. Finally, I wish to say this. The surreal judgement of the court in the U.K. 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.”
Despite Depp no longer being involved in Fantastic Beasts 3, and having reportedly only filmed one scene, it has since been revealed that the actor will receive his full salary of over $10 million thanks to a pay-or-play stipulation in his contract.
It has also now been reported that the reason for Depp’s departure was due to the merger of AT&T merged with Warner Bros.’ parent company Time Warner. This brought with it big changes, including CEO Jason Kilar and studio chief Ann Sarnoff, with reports stating that they are approaching new productions with an overall lack of tolerance for “the kind of controversy every major studio has had to weather at one time or another when courting mercurial — but historically popular talent — like Depp.”
Fantastic Beasts 3 is now due to hit theaters on July 15th, 2022, with The Batman due on 4th March 2022. This comes to us from Variety.
