Earlier this month, it was announced that controversial actor Johnny Depp was ousted from the Fantastic Beasts franchise after losing his libel case against News Group Newspapers and now it’s confirmed that Mads Mikkelsen will be replacing him.

Depp undertook a libel case over a 2018 article published in The Sun, that alleged that he was a “wife beater.” Claims that stemmed from fourteen incidents of alleged domestic violence committed by Depp against actress Amber Heard.

After a three-week hearing that took place at London’s Royal Courts of Justice back in July, Mr Justice Nicol handed down a judgement, ruling the article to be “substantially true”.

“I do not consider that the proposed grounds of appeal have a reasonable prospect of success,” he deemed.

Noting that 12 of the 14 alleged incidents of domestic violence reported on by NGN did occur. Justice Nicol determined that Depp put Heard “in fear of her life” during what she described as a “three-day hostage situation” that took place in Australia in March 2015. Depp was ordered to pay The Sun £520,000 towards legal fees.

Johnny Depp made his franchise debut as Gellert Grindelwald in 2016’s Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them — and was slated to reprise the role in the forthcoming third instalment. However, Warner Bros. requested that he resign.

“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,” Depp wrote in a statement.

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“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,” Depp concluded. “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.”

After much buzz over who will replace Depp, it has now been confirmed (via Indiewire) that Hannibal star Mads Mikkelsen will tackle the role of Grindelwald in the next Fantastic Beasts film, which is currently in production at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden.

Mikkelsen will join a stellar cast including Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Callum Turner, William Nadylam, Poppy Corby-Tuech, Jessica Williams, Victoria Yeates, and Jude Law.

Director David Yates, who worked on the final four Harry Potter films and the two Fantastic Beasts movies, is set to direct the forthcoming movie.

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