While the loss of the Grindelwald gig reportedly didn’t cost Depp in the short term, his contract required that he be paid his full salary for the film, despite having only filmed a single scene, one assumes the character was also set to appear in the other two planned movies, and now that won’t be happening for Depp.
And the legal issues also impacted Johnny Depp’s career.
He was supposed to be filming Fantastic Beasts 3 right now, but following the verdict in the libel case, he and Warner Bros. mutually agreed to part ways.
The role of Grindelwald will now be taken over by Mads Mikkelsen.