Johnny Depp Requests Delay in Defamation Trial for 'Fantastic Beasts 3' Filming

Johnny Depp is requesting a delay in the upcoming trial for his defamation lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard.

Filming is set to resume on Fantastic Beasts 3 in October and its estimated that the movie will shoot until February, according to Deadline.

The trial is set to run from January 11, 2021 to January 28, 2021, which would have worked for Johnny‘s schedule if the movie wasn’t delayed due to the pandemic.

“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. With conditions in London having improved somewhat, Warner Bros. has now set a shooting schedule that conflicts with the trial date in this case,” new court papers say.

Johnny has requested that the trial be postponed until sometime between March and June 2021. He is suing Amber for $50 million for what she wrote about him in a Washington Post op-ed that was published in 2018.

Earlier this summer, Johnny was in court for several weeks with Amber as part of a different lawsuit he filed against a UK tabloid. Here’s an update on the decision for that case.