Was Johnny Depp Strategically Left Out Of These Pictures From Fantastic Beasts?

After wondering for so long, all the Fantastic Beasts news is coming our way at once. In this past month we've learned the title, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald, and seen the cast, which includes a young hot Dumbledore played by Jude Law. At the same time, we've been dealing with a reckoning in the industry when it comes to how women are treated in Hollywood, which is why people have been protesting Johnny Depp's inclusion in the franchise. Despite ex-wife Amber Heard's accusations of domestic violence against the actor, he returns to the Fantastic Beast sequel as Grindelwald. As the title would suggest, that's a pretty important part — so why isn't he included in the most recent photos?

In an Entertainment Weekly exclusive, we get two new looks at the November 2018 film. The first shows Eddie Redmayne in character as Newt Scamander, seemingly in a sewer system. The second photo is a fun bonus behind-the-scenes look at shooting, which shows Redmayne and Law hanging out in costume on set, short scruffy Dumbledore beard and all.

Of course, we're still in the early stages, but it's hard to ignore that a movie with his character name in the title is barely releasing photos that include Depp (aside from the full cast shot), and just because he's not in the most recent photos doesn't mean people have forgotten.

"Has Johnny Depp been fired from the Fantastic Beasts movie yet because I'd really like to see it," one fan asked.

"But why is Johnny Depp still involved?" another replied to news of the new photos.

Fantastic Beasts director David Yates recently defended keeping Depp in the film.

"Honestly, there’s an issue at the moment where there’s a lot of people being accused of things, they’re being accused by multiple victims, and it’s compelling and frightening," he told Entertainment Weekly. "With Johnny, it seems to me there was one person who took a pop at him and claimed something. I can only tell you about the man I see every day: He’s full of decency and kindness, and that’s all I see. Whatever accusation was out there doesn’t tally with the kind of human being I’ve been working with."

Refinery29 has reached out to Warner Bros. for comment.