Depp to earn full salary despite exit from 'Fantastic Beasts 3'

Johnny Depp recently exited the 'Fantastic Beasts' movie franchise after he lost the 'wife beater' lawsuit. The actor took to social media to share that he quitted the franchise after 'Warner Bros.' (WB) requested his resignation. However, despite not being a part of the third instalment of 'Fantastic Beasts', Depp will be paid in full by 'WB', as per the report of 'The Hollywood Reporter' (THR). Depp's salary will be a whopping eight-figure amount.

'THR' also reported that Depp had a 'pay-or-play contract' with the studio, which stated that the actor will be paid in full whether a film is recast or even shelved. Depp had only shot one scene of 'Fantastic Beasts 3' since the production began on September 20, 2020.

The 'Fantastic Beasts' franchise boasts of three big stars in the lead roles – Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law and Johnny Depp and it was reported that the storyline of Dumbledore and Grindelwald was going to be the main plot of the third film. With Depp's departure, the role of Grindelwald will likely be recast by the studio.

With two films, the franchise had already earned over $1.4 billion globally. The second film, however, only collected $654 million.

Johnny Depp had a long-run as Captain Jack Sparrow in the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' franchise, but when the conversation of rebooting the franchise began at 'Disney', the studio decided to recast the role.