Honestly, Comic Con coverage has never really been my jam, although there are some Comic Con previews and panels which have interested me in past years. It really felt like the hype for this year’s San Diego Comic Con (the OG Comic Con) was rather… muted. Some of the biggest franchises in TV and film didn’t have much new stuff to shill, so there’s a lot of… like, WB programming on the menu. Still, I didn’t realize that Warner Bros. was going to be doing a big thing for the Fantastic Beast sequel, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.
This film doesn’t come out until November, and all of the “hype” about this film – before now – has been about what a sh-tty decision it was to cast Johnny Depp as Grindelwald. The first trailer barely featured Depp, because they KNEW. And then when asked about casting a man who assaulted his wife, director David Yates called the domestic violence a “dead issue,” like every dude gets one pass to beat his wife and then he’ll never, ever do it again. JK Rowling said problematic sh-t about it too (go here to read). In the months since all of that happened, Depp’s downward spiral has continued at a rapid pace, with Rolling Stone likening his vibe to “the last days of Elvis.”
But I guess Warner Bros. was like “No, Johnny Depp is OUR BRO, we’re ride or die for this abusive pile of scarves!” Because they decided to put him front-and-center of their Comic-Con promotion this weekend. Depp pulled a Hiddleston: he showed up to Comic Con as Grindelwald, and spoke to the audience in character:
Johnny Depp makes a surprise visit at #SDCC in full Grindelwald costume 😲pic.twitter.com/beWA1VId11
— FANDOM @ SDCC (@getFANDOM) July 21, 2018
Blah, nope. Depp is also featured heavily in the new trailer. I guess someone at Warner Bros was like “f–k it, we paid for him, we might as well use him like crazy.” It looks like a cool film besides Depp’s casting. Wouldn’t this role have been much better served by someone like… literally anyone else? Paul Bettany, Jared Harris, Cillian Murphy, whoever. Those are just the random names that came to mind.
Photos courtesy of Getty.
Depp is the reason why we won’t be seeing this movie in the fall. And I stopped following Rowling on Twitter when she defended him.
The man assaulted his wife. It’s just wrong for Hollywood to defend him.
you are right. I am not going to see any movie with depp in it. old or new. does not matter.
I’m with all of you. I won’t see any Depp movie. That included Murder on the Orient Express, which I had really wanted to see. I won’t go to a Tom Cruise movie either. I can’t look at either one of them without gagging. In fact, I only clicked on this article by mistake.
I’ll see your Cruise and Depp, and raise you a Pitt. I’m done with all 3 of them. And yes, I know it’s stupid to still give a shit about any of them one way or the other but damn I’m tired of men casting off their women after they’re done with them. And although Brad Pitt didn’t abuse Jen Anniston (that we know of) he publically humiliated her by cheating with AJ and that was it for me. Hollywood needs to try harder with their middle-aged men.
I was a huge, long time JD fan…I mean I go back to Jump Street. But I cut him off a f when he abused and assaulted his wife. I didn’t even see the last Pirates Movie. I will not give him even one red cent. And really he sickens me.
Same here. Hubby and I will not see or support any films associated with Johnny Depp. We made the mistake of seeing the first one not knowing he was making a cameo in it or that he would be in the sequels.
Same. Once upon a time I adored Johnny and dropped him the moment the allegations came out. Best decision I could’ve made. I’ll happily use the money I would’ve spent on Fantastic Beasts to go see Amber’s movie, Aquaman.
Yeah Depp is not someone I will support anymore. I am done with separate the man from his art. Nope.
Same. I unfollowed her and I wont be seeing the film. I expect Hollywood men to protect their own. But JK – an abuse survivor herself – defending him and shading Amber? That is what angered and continues to anger me about this whole situation.
Vom.
Yeah I won’t be going to see this. So disappointed as I loved the first film (bar the nightmarish scene where Colin Farrell turned into the Scarfy Depp) and am a huge fan of the Harry Potter universe. It’s a magical world they could very simply have recast Depp and had a brief explanation for the change in his appearance. WB and JKR can count me and my money out of the whole franchise now.
There was really no reason they couldn’t have kept Colin as Grindlewald and cut Depp from the first film. Changing into Depp made no sense.
Colin is such a great actor too. He’s one of the few where I think of him as his character instead of knowing that he’s an actor walking around in a movie I’m watching.
Don’t read this if you haven’t seen the first movie, but Colin couldn’t really play Grindelwald unless you want to do another polyjuice potion thing and it really wouldn’t make sense, also overdone. If they wanted to do that they would have had to do it before the first one for it to make sense, and that twist was a big part of the first movie. It would have made more sense to reshoot it then without Depp as it was a small scene. They could pull a Back to the Future (i.e. Jennifer) and recast it completely, but they decided not to. Plus as the image of Colin was really Graves, they may have plans for him to show up in one of the upcoming movies. So I guess some will not go see it because of Depp, but I really don’t think it will affect it that much either as I’m pretty sure that’s not who they are marketing too.
I’m the biggest Harry Potter and I’m so pissed that I can’t watch these movies because of Depp.
But I will not give my money to a wife-beater.
What about the rest of the cast? What about the investors who will lose money because of Depp’s actions? It is so unfair to them. I wish there was a way of making sinners pay without punishing saints as well.
The rest of the cast and crew already got paid and moved onto other projects. This movie will probably make enough money to give them a little extra depending on their contracts—But that’s extra $ and not something they ever count on to make a living/or profit when agreeing to a movie.
The investors should have known better, and often they have enough $$ and power to make casting decisions—-So don’t feel bad for them. They made their choice.
Making a decision to not waste/use your hard earned money to support a movie starting an abuser is really more about your own values and principles—‘cause honestly boycotting it will not punish them that much unless mass amount of ppl do it and activily protest, i guess—But really, he got his millions already from signing on in the first place.
I really doubt those of us who will not be watching because of Depp will make that much of a dent in the box office of a big franchise movie like this. Warner Bros. will still have a hit in its hands in November.
There’s some truth in that @Ryme, but it’s complictaed. Reviews for the first one were very average and the domestic number was good, but still lower than any Harry Potter movie. Not surprising for a spin off to be lower than the main series but the next one will tell the tale. If it drops from Fantastic Beasts (very possible) WB is going to FREAK. They want five movies out of this and without growth (or at least steadiness) there is no way this series sustains. They cannot afford to lose any of the audience they had for the first one and keep this on the level they want. That’s why they are leaning so heavily on “names” in Depp and to a lesser extent Jude Law. Eddie Redmayne and Ezra Miller mean next to nothing and sadly I cannot even remember the lead actresses name.
WB is worried, and I’d be thrilled to see their nonsense backfire on them. But as far as going to see it for the “other people”? If this succeeds Depp will get the credit, I can almost guarantee it. So in short? Don’t.
The only way to make studios listen is to affect their bottom line. Sucks that innocent people are involved with the project, but that’s on the studio, not the audience.
will someone PLEASE think of the investors??
Hardcore Potterhead too, and I’m also pissed he’s in the movie. I am not supporting Depp in any way, shape or form. The douche has plenty of fans willing to part with money, so I doubt it will affect him, but @Mia4 has given me hope.
When I say I love Harry Potter, I mean I LOVE it. Like my license plate is HfflPff. I am dedicated to my house-work hard, play fair, and live next to the kitchen might as well be my life motto. To say that I’m disgusted is an understatement. I LOVE Newt, but I just cannot with this Depp thing. Not doing it.
Same. Slytherin is sitting this one out. My daughter wants to see it after we watched FB and how to train them. I was looking forward to more Fogler. My favorite little muggle! But now we won’t be seeing it.
Mainstream media is like snail mail always playing catch up with social media. Hence people like Depp, who are persona non grata on social media, are still celebrated by the MSM.
Kaiser was right: “We can’t have nice things.” I watched the trailer earlier this morning and I got so excited because I am a huge fan of the Harry Potter franchise. Now I feel guilty if I go see the movie in November. Aghhhhhh.
I don’t feel guilty because I can’t stand seeing Depp on screen. The trailer has that line about Dumbledore not being able to move against Grindelwald himself, which maybe will be an allusion to their past history and love affair. (If they don’t bring that up, I will be even more disappointed than I already am.) Does _anyone_ look at Depp and think his character was someone Dumbledore fell in love with? YUCK.
Do as I shall do and watch the bootleg. My money is my only voice.
Yasss, the bootleg!
I can get behind that, because there is no way I am paying money to support depp
What about the fact that they had him show up when Amber Heard was already booked to be there to promote Aquaman. A whole new level of disgraceful by those involved.
THIS! 1000+++++
THIS. She was BACKSTAGE. I was thoroughly disgusted by Comic-Con and Warner Bros for that.
So gross having him in the same room as the woman he terrorized. Amber Heard was already scheduled to be there.
I thought the first movie was dull and derivative so it’s an easy choice for me to ignore the second. So booooooring. Really gross of WB to force Amber Head to be anywhere near this guy.
I’m also laughing so hard at how much Depp dominates the publicity for this movie. No one gives a damn about poor Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne (who, OK, I admit is VERY dull) and Jude Law is just around to pretend that at some point WB is going to let Dumbledore’s sexuality be open in the story. (It’s so cute that some fans actually believe they are just “saving it for a later movie”. Really, it’s adorable that they are falling for that. 🙄)
Those fans must not realize it’s a Disney movie.
It’s Warner Brothers, not Disney. Dumbledore sees Grindelwald in the Mirror of Erised at the end of the trailer, so they might be exploring it. Even still, I’m not about this at all. Barring my hatred for Johnny Depp and his role in this franchise, the whole Fantastic Beasts spin-off has felt inauthentic to the series for me from day 1. And now, apparently they have young Dumbledore teaching the wrong subject. It’s BS. I’m a hardcore fan and I’m mildly insulted by this money grab.
Disgusting decision ever, amber heard the victim was already booked for aquaman promotion tour. I will not watch his movie.
Metoo just proves that repercussions for white male are barely real, johnny debt is just facing little backlash because of his problems with drugs and money but almost nothing because of being an abuser.
I felt for amber when I discover that her abuser would be at the same place as her, but I was happy to see her sourrended by her costars ( they look like they were having fun) .
Ps: kayser, you suggested Paul Betany but he is friends with the abuser and one of his apologists.
Cillian Murphy would have been such an amazing (and dreamy) choice for this role too. I’m sad that he isn’t involved 🙁
Seems like putting him out in character was probably the only way to kinda keep him in control. I think they probably pissed a lot of people off putting him out in front of the audience though.
I’m a huge HP fan and won’t be seeing this. It makes me sad but honestly, JD just sucks the air out of any movie he’s in anyway. He’s not a good actor anymore and it’s distracting how bad he is. He just doesn’t fit in this movie. Every time he’s on the screen in the trailer, it’s just lifeless and annoying lol
Cringe.
I must admit I never really liked Depp – I always found him overrated and overhyped as an actor, especially in the Pirates/Burton-era. I always got the feeling he was dressing up, like a pantomime. His movies were never actually about the character, but about “Johnny Depp dressing up as an eccentric character and receiving loads of praise”.
Now, seeing him in character like that is just sad to me. The aging, pasty drunkard who still thinks he’s got it. He was famous for his looks, his sex appeal and his relationships with the world’s most beautiful women, and once all of that is gone, no one cares about his “eccentricity”.
I love the Harry Potter world. But I’ll skip this one.
Looks good but not going to see it.
I watched the first Fantastic Beasts movie with my eldest child in the theatre. We tried to catch the 2D showing, but something wasn’t done correctly to convert the 3D film to 2D. So all the CGI creatures were blurry and the sound was off. We strained to hear Redmayne mumbling and it was painfully obvious that he was trying to interact with blank space and pretend that something was there. It really stressed the point to me that this is a cash grab from the studios. WB doesn’t care that these films are trash.
I feel the same. These movies are an obvious cash grab and an insult to the fans. They are completely inauthentic to the series. Writers/producers have made some cheap choices that are not consistent with the source material and I’m pissed.
Fogler was the breakout star of the film, to me. Anytime he was on screen, I enjoyed the movie more. The laughing shots scene is still my favorite due to his reactions alone. That’s the one actor in the film that made the movie enjoyable to me.
Amber, Nicole Kidman, and Jason Momoa all looked amazing at the Aquaman event. I had fun stalking their instagrams last night to check out the photos.
The aquaman cast looked like they were having fun and have a friendly relationship, it was nice to see them interacting.
Also they all look amazing.
Lookie Loo. He still works. The abuser still works even though he isn’t even a box office draw. But he IS ripping off Hiddleston’s stunt from four years ago! Let’s glorify him in our culture!
Just seeing his face makes me angry. Eff him and the people who continue to give him jobs. I can’t believe they had him at the same event as Amber. These people who enable and defend him disgust me.
(Also — Tom Hiddleston did the in-character appearance better.)
I was so disappointed in the first movie so won’t be seeing this – until maybe it comes on tv/Netflix etc etc
I honestly just can’t believe *this* is what people believe Grindelwald should look like knowing that Dumbledore sacrificed family and morals in pursuit of That Dick (TM). Proof that the straights can’t be trusted with anything.
He seems pretty dead here. I believe there’s some poor PA reading his lines to him through his earpiece. His accent’s also slipping. Bit of cockney in there.
I bet some HP fans would be so desperate for Dumbledore/Grindelwald moments that they’ll eat the movie up with Depp involved and find excuses why they wateched it. Pathetic.
Eh, Tom did it better as Loki.