Amber Heard Confirms Her Part in ‘Aquaman 2’ Was Significantly Reduced
During day 16 of the Johnny Depp v Amber Heard libel trial, Heard confirmed, while on the stand, that her presence in Aquaman 2 was significantly reduced by the studio after several rewrites that happened during production.
She also stated that the studio wanted her out completely, and she had to fight really hard to keep the role. Here is a transcript of the questioning (via Reddit, the video version is available here):
LAWYER: Have you participated in Aquaman 2?
AMBER HEARD: “I have. I fought really hard to stay in the movie. They didn’t want to include me in the film.”
LAWYER: Were you ultimately able to film in Aquaman 2?
AMBER HEARD:”A very pared down version of that role, yes.”
LAWYER: What, if anything, changed in the script?
AMBER HEARD: “I was given a script. Then given new versions of the script that had taken away scenes that had action in it, that depicted my character and another character, without giving any spoilers away. Two characters fighting with one another.
“They basically took a bunch out of my role. They just removed a bunch.”
This seemingly confirms a few rumors that came out of the production that said the actress would be barely appearing in the movie. Some early reports had attributed it to a lack of chemistry between her and lead actor Jason Momoa, though that is probably not the case. A lot of information pertinent to the entertainment industry has transpired from the trial, and will probably continue to do so. Heard’s exhibit list includes a long series of emails with different people involved with the DC franchise, from Aquaman director James Wan, and star Jason Momoa, to Justice League director Zack Snyder.
Snyder was the one that cast Heard as Mera, back when he was making his original cut of Justice League. Heard was called back to do additional photography in late 2020 for a new scene the director wanted to include in his four-hour cut for HBO Max, Zack Snyder’s Justice League. The role was included in 2018’s Aquaman, by James Wan, who gave Mera the female lead role as Arthur Curry’s love interest, like what happens in the comics. And as we have now found out, the studio mandated a shift in the direction of the character for the new movie.
Warner Bros. has been severely affected by this lawsuit. After Depp lost his libel suit with the British tabloid The Sun, back in 2020, he was forced by the studio to resign as Grindelwald in the third Fantastic Beasts movie. The executives had reportedly started an internal investigation on their own and were not happy with the results. Mads Mikkelsen took over the role in the recently-released Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.
It’s unknown whether WB also started an internal investigation on Amber Heard, but they were apparently planning to cut ties with her. We don’t know what convinced them otherwise either, but the studio and DC Films overall can’t catch a breath. Between Aquaman 2 and The Flash, they will have to deal with the marketing and release of two $200 million projects next year where either the lead actor or the lead actress is in serious legal trouble. Ezra Miller has been arrested multiple times in Hawaii in just the last couple of months, and the studio is apparently figuring out how to deal with him. It’s very possible they will reshoot the end of The Flash to introduce a new actor as Barry Allen.
The future plans for the Aquaman franchise are unknown at this point, but with the recently-appointed Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav unmercifully axing projects left and right, and with the DC division reportedly being overhauled, anything can happen. Many fans have speculated about Emilia Clarke taking over the role of Mera going forward, should the company continue with the character for a third Aquaman movie.
Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom was recently pushed back three months and will now release on March 17th, 2023. The next DC projects in line are Black Adam (October 21st, 2022) and Shazam! Fury of the Gods (December 21st, 2022).
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as authors like Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
