The 'Pirates of the Caribbean' actor seeks postponement to the trial for his defamation lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard to accommodate filming of the 'Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald' sequel.
- Sep 2, 2020
AceShowbiz - Johnny Depp's legal drama with his ex-wife Amber Heard is going to take a longer time to be settled. The actor is seeking a delay of trial for his defamation lawsuit against the "Aquaman" actress because of the upcoming production of "Fantastic Beasts 3".
Due to the COVID-19, filming on the David Yates-directed movie was put on hold earlier this year. Now that the British government has allowed some projects to resume filming in London with strict protocols, production on the "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald" sequel is set to pick back up again starting in October and possibly extending into February 2021, conflicting with the defamation trial set to take place from January 11 to 28 next year.
"When the Court set the current trial date in this case, Mr. Depp understood that Warner Bros. planned to shoot 'Fantastic Beasts 3' in London long before January 11, 2021. COVID-19 disrupted the studio's plans, causing repeated postponements," Depp's lawyers says in court papers. "With conditions in London having improved somewhat, Warner Bros. has now set a shooting schedule that conflicts with the trial date in this case."
Depp says he was notified on August 19 that he's called back to work from early October through mid-February. He also asks the trial to be postponed until sometime between on March and June 2021.
"Mr. Depp would face potential liability for breach of contract should he fail to comply with the schedule contractually dictated by Warner Bros.," states the filing. "Though Mr. Depp is eager to proceed to trial, he faces an untenable situation over which he has no control."
In the motion, Depp additionally argues that Heard's recent response and $100 million counterclaim warrants a postponement. The legal papers note that the "London Fields" star has agreed to meet on September 11 to discuss the potential delay and that the proposed postponement "would not entail any prejudice to her, much less unfair prejudice" because she's expected to film "Aquaman 2" sometime in 2021.
Depp's motion for the delay of the defamation trial hereby shut down rumors that the Academy Award-nominated actor and the "Magic Mike XXL" star would be fired from their respective projects. Words were Warner Bros. was considering to replace the 57-year-old actor in "Fantastic Beasts 3" and the 34-year-old actress in "Aquaman 2" due to the bad press regarding their legal drama.
