The release date of upcoming movie Fantastic Beasts 3 has been postponed to 2022. The third instalment of the Harry Potter spin-off was initially expected to hit the theatres on November 12, 2021. The film is now expected to be released in the summer of 2022.
According to a report by Variety, the exact date of the release has not been confirmed yet.
Starring British actor Eddie Redmayne in the lead, the first film in the series- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was released in 2016. Owing to its commercial success, production house Warner Bros. announced a sequel, that released in 2018 with Oscar-nominated actor Johnny Depp playing the antagonist, Gellert Grindelwald.
Depp was was asked to step down from reprising his role in the latest instalment on Saturday, after he lost a libel case against British tabloid The Sun, which termed him as a “wife-beater” in a 2018 article.
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Variety reported that Warner Bros. has confirmed Depp’s departure and is now looking to recast his role.
“Johnny Depp will depart the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ franchise. We thank Johnny for his work on the films to date,” a Warner Bros. spokesperson said.
Fantastic Beasts 3 is currently in production and it has been reported that director David Yates will be returning to the franchise to direct the film.
The series will also mark the return of actors Ezra Miller as Credence Barebone, Katherine Waterston as Tina Goldstein, and Jessica Williams as Eulalie Hicks. According to Variety, Williams is expected to have a bigger role in the new film.
The film will be co-written by Harry Potter author JK Rowling and Steve Kloves, who was the writer for the first seven Harry Potter films.
