Fantastic Beasts 3 crew member reveals that morale was low and people were not happy with Warner Brothers decision to fire Johnny Depp.
“It’s politics and everybody knows it,” a Fantastic Beasts 3 crew member speaks out about Warner Brothers decision to fire beloved Hollywood veteran Johnny Depp who was supposed to play Grindelwald in the upcoming movie.
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“The atmosphere changed dramatically when we learned that Depp would not be returning to the set,” the crew member disclosed. “I know it sounds dramatic but the first day of filming without him really felt like a funeral. I think it felt that way because we [cast and crew] were given strict instructions not to talk about it.”
According to the insider the entire cast and crew had to sign a Non-Disclose Agreement which stipulated that they were not allowed to discuss Johnny Depp to media or at any press events.
Jude Law was forced to bite his tongue in an Entertainment Tonight interview where he was asked Johnny’s so-called “resignation” but he confessed that they were forced to “go along with it.”
“In a franchise like this, it’s the studio and the company that make the big decisions. And you have to go along with those because we’re just a member of the team,” Jude said regarding Depp’s exit from the franchise. However, according the crew member, Jude Law was absolutely devastated by the news.
The crew member recalls complete silence from the entire team after Johnny Depp was forced to step down, “The silence was deafening. Nobody had anything to say, mostly because we weren’t allowed to talk about Depp’s departure. I would compare it to seeing my favourite teacher quit but the truth is that — to a lot of us — Johnny was like family.”
“Johnny Depp was nothing but lovely to me and the rest of the crew. It didn’t matter that I am just some contractor, it didn’t matter that I’m not famous; he never treated me like trash or talked down to me and, to be honest, that happens a lot in this industry. Johnny Depp engages with everyone equally and that’s because I believe he is a very humble human being.”
Morale down, energy low.
The Fantastic Beasts 3 crew member added: “Morale is down and the energy is not the same. I think that this is going to translate over in the final cut. It’s just — different. The worst thing about it is that we never really got a chance to say goodbye or, as sad as it sounds, let out our grief about it.”
We reached out to the crew member and asked them if they know what the general stance on the Amber v Heard is among the rest of the team, and whether they had any extra knowledge on the situation.
They responded: “It’s political and everybody knows it. Like, not in your typical sense of the word as in left versus right, as far as I know Depp is very liberal, but Amber Heard has some powerful political friends. As for the [DV] stuff, people just don’t talk about it, what they do talk about is how Amber is a liar though, so there’s that.”
We also inquired whether they’ve ever worked with Amber Heard before, to which they replied: “Me personally? No. I’ve been working in the industry for over a decade and have never worked with her. But I do have a few friends that have, kind of, worked with her. I say ‘kind of’ because, as my friends put it, you never work with her — you only work for her.”
“A close friend of mine told me that she [Amber Heard] refused to make eye contact with any of the crew to one of her last projects, and she was quite rude,” the Fantastic Beasts 3 crew member concluded.
Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen will replace Johnny Depp as Gellert Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 3 which is currently slated for a July 2022 release date. We’ll have too wait and see just how badly morale affected the film.