On Thursday J.K. Rowling defened the decision to cast Johnny Depp in the next Fantastic Beasts movie. This came after a backlash from fans unhappy at the circumstances of the actor's recent divorce.
On her person website, Rowling said the filmmakers had considered recasing the role of the villain Gellert Grindelwald for the movie. She then went onto argue that the circumstances of Depp's 2016 divorce from Amber Heard were private and should be respected. The Warner Bros movie is the second of a planned five movie spinoff franchise from the Harry Potter films.
According to Rowling, “Harry Potter fans had legitimate questions and concerns about our choice to continue with Johnny Depp in the role. 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,” she said.
