Johnny Depp may be out of a movie role, but he’s still going to receive the movie role money. The 57-year-old actor will still receive $10 million for the third “Fantastic Beasts” movie, despite only filming one scene before being dumped by Warner Bros. over his “wife beater” court ruling in the United Kingdom.
Depp had sued British newspaper The Sun for libel after the paper ran an article in April 2018 that labeled the actor a “wife beater,” based on allegations from Depp’s ex-wife Amber Heard.
The judge in the case ruled in favor of The Sun, saying, “The claimant has not succeeded in his action for libel.” The judge went on to say that the newspaper had shown that its 2018 story calling Depp a “wife beater” was “substantially true.”
The newest installment of the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise, titled “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 3,” began shooting in London on Sept. 30, and Depp had filmed just one scene. Due to his “pay-or-play contract” that lacked a “morality clause,” Warner Bros. had no other choice than to pay him the full salary, regardless of the role being recast.
Depp played villain Gellert Grindelwald in the series, which takes place more than 60 years before the events of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter franchise, from which “Fantastic Beasts” was spun off.
Reports indicate Warner Bros. is in the process of replacing Depp in the role. The film is expected to hit theaters in 2022, with two more installments of the franchise still to come.
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