Amber Heard’s Mera role in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is significantly pared down, claims the 36-year-old during her ongoing defamation trial with Johnny Depp. Furthermore, Warner Bros. reportedly didn’t want the actor onboard the Jason Momoa starring DC film sequel due to the controversy, which also led to the studio replacing Depp’s role with Mads Mikkelsen in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.
Aquaman 2 continues to be caught in the crossfire of Heard-Depp’s defamation case with massive support to remove or replace Mera. In fact, the petition against Heard has amassed over 4.2 million signatures. The backlash gained more momentum after a report from insider Grace Randolph stated Heard had less than 10 minutes of screen time in the Lost Kingdom. Now, the star herself confirmed this claim during her witness stand, stating she was handed a new version of the script that removed her action scenes. Readers can check out the transcript below.
In another video clip captured during Heard’s witness stand – the actor is questioned regarding her DC film contract. A three-picture deal that began with a cameo in 2017’s Justice League and a full-fledged appearance in 2018’s Aquaman and the contract ends with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. So if Warner Bros. wanted to hire her for Aquaman 3, a new negotiation/deal will be required but this seems highly unlikely in light of the proceedings. It was rumored the studio decided not to completely remove her involvement after two other creatives from the project opposed it. It was also reported WB wanted to fire Heard for chemistry concerns.
Earlier in July 2021, Aquaman producer Peter Safran had doubled down on their intentions not to remove Heard from the film stating “I don’t think we’re ever going to react to, honestly, pure fan pressure.”
It remains to be seen if Heard’s role could fully be trimmed out by the end of the trial. Echoing Safran’s statement, “You gotta do what’s best for the movie.” And with terms like MePoo trending on Twitter, it’s likely to shadow the creative success of Aquaman 2.
Directed by James Wan from a script penned by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom arrives on March 17, 2023.
