A petition to “bring back” Johnny Depp to the Fantastic Beasts franchise has reached nearly 150,000 signatures.
On Friday (6 November), Depp confirmed on Instagram that he had been asked to resign from the Harry Potter spin-off series by film studio Warner Bros, and will “respect and agree to that request”.
The decision followed after the Pirates of the Caribbean star lost his libel trial against The Sun which saw the actor suing News Group Newspapers and the paper’s executive editor Dan Wooton.
The editor had referred to Depp as a “wife beater” in a 2018 column, following allegations of domestic violence made against the actor by his ex-wife Amber Heard.
Fans have since launched a petition calling on the movie studio to reverse their decision and “bring back” Depp in his role as Gellert Grindelwald for the third instalment of the franchise.
The online petition on Change.org reads: “We want him back! Warner Bros should listen to the public or we will boycott the movie!!!”
It also states that the outcome of the libel case “was completely unfair”. Depp has also announced that he intends to appeal the verdict of the trial, stating: “My resolve remains strong and I intend to prove that the allegations made against me are false.”
In the days since the announcement, however, Hannibal star Mads Mikkelsen has already been tipped as a replacement. The Danish actor is reportedly in early talks with Warner Bros.
Fantastic Beasts 3 is currently in production in London and scheduled for a worldwide release in the summer of 2022.
