Johnny Depp files for delay in defamation case against Amber Heard to resume shooting for Fantastic Beasts 3

Actor Johnny Depp has filed documents in a Virginia court to delay the defamation trial against his former wife actress Amber Heard, media reports said. He took the step to accommodate the filming of the third installment of the _Fantastic Beasts_ franchise, where Depp plays the powerful dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald. Variety reported that Depp has requested the court to delay the hearing to a period between March and June of 2021. The current trial period starts from 11 January, 2021, to go on through 28 January, 2021. This is in a clash with the shooting schedule of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 3 in London that starts from October this year and will continue till February, 2021. The $50 million defamation case was filed by the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory actor back in March, 2019, after Heard wrote an opinion piece for the Washington Post. The article - ‘I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change’ - did not mention Depp by his name but as Variety states, plaintiffs can sue for defamation by inference in Virginia, where Post was published. According to the court papers, when the court had set the current trial date, Depp “understood that Warner Bros planned to shoot Fantastic Beasts 3 in London long before January 11, 2021”. However, the dates had to be postponed due to the pandemic. “With conditions in London having improved somewhat, Warner Bros. has now set a shooting schedule that conflicts with the trial date in this case,” added the papers. Deadline  reported court papers stated that the Aquaman actress has agreed to meet on 11 September to discuss the potential delay of the case.