Amber Heard Claims Warner Bros. Wanted To Eliminate Her Role In Aquaman 2 Entirely

Due to her legal difficulties with Johnny Depp, actress Amber Heard claimed that Warner Bros. reduced her part as Mera in Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom

Heard penned an op-ed for The Washington Post shortly after her divorce from actor Johnny Depp, implying that Depp had assaulted her throughout their relationship, prompting Depp to file a series of lawsuits, including a libel action against The Sun, which he lost. Depp subsequently sued Heard for defamation, and the case is now in court. Fans petitioned to have Heard removed from the Aquaman sequel after she got blowback for her op-ed. The actress was invited back for the picture, albeit it now looks like that her role will be much less than it was the first time around.

Heard testified today (via CBS News) that Warner Bros. initially did not want the actress to reprise her role. Heard claims that she "worked extremely hard" to get into the movie and that she was offered various drafts, with later versions removing sections involving her character, including action sequences. According to Heard on the stand, the actress's part in Aquaman 2 has been "pared down."

Lawyer: Have you participated in Aquaman 2?

Heard: I have.

Lawyer: And tell us about that.

Heard: I had to fight to--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?

Heard: A very pared down version of that role, yes.

Lawyer: What if anything changed in the script?

Heard: I was given a script. And 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 spoilers away, two characters fighting with one another. They basically took a bunch out of my role. They just removed a bunch.

Heard most recently featured in Zack Snyder's Justice League, which was released on HBO Max last year and included moments not seen in the theatrical version. While a fan petition to have her removed gained traction when her legal troubles began (it now has 4.1 million signatures), Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom producers stated that they would not respond to fan pressure when it came to bringing Heard back for the sequel, saying that they had to "do what's right for the film" even if they were aware of the controversy. Despite the backlash, Heard was hired back, and while working on the sequel, she released photographs of her preparation as well as a few BTS images.

Regardless of the outcome of Heard and Depp's defamation trial, both celebrities have been subjected to public scrutiny as a result of their highly publicized case. Depp has previously been passed over for the character of Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts and a sixth installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. WB already has enough fires to put out with The Flash actor Ezra Miller, as well as dealing with their current shake-up with the Discovery merger, which is already changing things up on their TV and theatrical slate. With the release of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom set for 2023, anything may happen in terms of how much (or if) Mera appears in the final edit.

Source: CBS News