Amber Heard says she had to fight Warner Bros. in order to keep her role in DC Films' Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
During the defamation trial between Heard and ex-husband Johnny Depp, Heard -- who plays Mera in the Aquaman franchise -- was asked if she participated in shooting for the sequel. "I have. I fought really hard to stay in the movie," she said. "They didn't want to include me in the film." When asked to elaborate, Heard added that although she's in The Lost Kingdom, it's "A very pared down version of that role."
"I was given a script," she continued. "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."
Though Heard portrayed Mera in 2018's Aquaman, it was recently revealed that she was nearly dropped from the sequel due to chemistry concerns with lead actor Jason Momoa. It was also revealed during the current trial that Heard's 2018 op-ed -- which is at the heart of the lawsuit -- was specifically timed to capitalize on Aquaman's press in December 2018.
Producer Peter Safran commented on a widespread petition to pull Heard from the Aquaman franchise in July 2021. "I don't think we're ever going to react to, honestly, pure fan pressure," he explained. "You gotta do what's best for the movie. We felt that if it's James Wan, and Jason Momoa, it should be Amber Heard. That's really what it was. One is not unaware of what is going on in the Twitter-verse, but that doesn't mean you have to react to it or take it as gospel or accede to their wishes. You have to do what’s right for the film, and that’s really where we landed on it."
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom arrives in theaters March 17, 2023.
Source: YouTube, via Reddit