If you had told me three years ago that Johnny Depp would be Squirting Pussystarring in a Harry Potter spinoff, I would have thought it was a match made in film heaven. (I also would have been pretty dang psyched that we were getting more Potter at all. Never give up, kids.)
Now, with the leak Tuesday evening that Depp will be cameo-ing in Fantastic Beastsand Where to Find Themlater this month and co-starring in the sequel, I'm not feeling so fantastic.
Some educated guesswork leads me and others to assume Depp will play noted Potter-verse Bad Guy Gellert Grindelwald, the Voldemort of the 1940s, although that hasn't been confirmed by the studio.
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Whatever Depp's role is, the fact that he's on screen in the Potter-verse at all is disappointing. While everyone has their own valid threshold of tolerance for separating the art from the artist, Depp's domestic violence accusations that have come to light following his split from Amber Heard have forced many fans to see him through a different lens. It's a lens I'm bummed I have to consider at all in association with Potter, a family-friendly franchise that has thus far largely managed to avoid "problematic" discussions.
It's easy to imagine Warner Bros., which would have likely finalized this casting long before the Heard/Depp stuff became public, expecting total excitement about the news that a major movie star was going to be a big part of a worldwide tentpole. (When asked for comment about how Depp's current PR issues affect the film, a rep for the studio told Mashableit "[doesn't] comment on personal issues.") Now, instead of joy, the majority of the first thoughts on Twitter are more like
johnny depp pic.twitter.com/wcXAcT3Qof
— victória (@foofightin) November 2, 2016
reading tweets from people excited about johnny depp pic.twitter.com/tizmbIHW7k
— Alex Bruce-Smith (@alexbrucesmith) November 2, 2016
I'm livid about the Johnny Depp casting. It's revealed that you attacked and abused your wife and then you get this? No. Absolutely not.
— Rosianna Halse Rojas (@papertimelady) November 2, 2016
Joining in on letting @jk_rowling know how disappointed I am that Johnny Depp will be appearing in the fantastic beasts series.
— Sarah Snitch (@SarahSnitch) November 2, 2016
do I think jkr picked johnny depp to be in her film? no. but she sure as hell didn't try to stop it, either.
— Anna Menta (@annalikestweets) November 2, 2016
Okay I've just seen Johnny Depp is supposedly going to be Grindelwald?? What the hell?? Please no!
— Malfoy, Bethany (@FanPotterhead) November 2, 2016
These are clearly instantaneous reactions, and audiences have a long history of basically ignoring the personal problems of celebrities, particularly men, when it comes to what entertainment they consume. But for a film franchise that is banking on nostalgia, Potter goodwill and wide-eyed magical wonder to drive audiences to theater seats, this isn't a good look.
After all, when the lights go down, people want to be thinking about fictional beasts and monsters, not real ones.
Topics Harry Potter
