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Actress Amber Heard

Photo: Cinema Publishers Collection / IMAGO

In the trial of Amber Heard and Johnny Depp, the verdict was handed down more than 16 months ago; there has been a Netflix documentary in the meantime – and yet the dispute between the former spouses is still making waves. The aquatic language is deliberately chosen here, because it is about new details about the filming of the film »Aquaman: Lost Kingdom«, in which Heard plays the role of Mera, as she did in the first part. The set stories became public in an article in the industry newspaper »Variety« with the headline »›Aquaman 2‹ flooded with Drama« – a flood of drama, in other words.

On December 21, the sequel to the successful DC comic book adaptation »Aquaman« from 2018 is scheduled to be released in German cinemas. In addition to Heard, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Patrick Wilson as Ocean Master and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta also reprise their roles from the first installment. But when the defamation trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard got rolling, there was an online petition in 2019 to strip Heard of the "Aquaman" role – analogous to Depp's loss of the role in "Fantastic Beasts". The petition reached a total of more than four million digital signatures. "Paid rumors and paid campaigns on social media" do not dictate casting decisions, Heard told Entertainment Weekly in 2020.

Intervention by Elon Musk?

Nevertheless, there were apparently serious considerations to shoot the sequel without Amber Heard. As »Variety« writes, director James Wan is said to have complained about the lack of chemistry between Heard and the male lead Jason Momoa. These sources stress that the move had nothing to do with the Depp trial. Another unnamed source, however, rejects the approach, saying that Heard passed a "chemistry test" with Momoa and performed better than two other actresses tested. Ultimately, an intervention by Heard's former lover Elon Musk to the film studio Warner Bros. apparently prevented the actress from losing the role, according to »Variety«.

During the trial in Fairfax County Circuit Court, Amber Heard emphasized in a testimony that she had to fight hard for the role of Mera in "Aquaman 2". In the last version of the script, her role had become significantly smaller compared to the first version, she said in May 2022. She didn't want to be more specific so as not to spoil anything. »Variety« now speaks with reference to people familiar with the production that at least two scenes have been removed: an action sequence in which Mera fights Black Manta (Abdul-Mateen) and a love scene with Jason Momoa. In the trailer for »Aquaman: Lost Kingdom«, which was released in September, Heard is only seen briefly.

»Variety« also quotes from court documents that appeared in a roundabout way on the Internet forum Reddit. Among them were the notes of Heard's therapist, who noted during a therapy session with the actress: "Jason drunk – too late on set. Dressed like Johnny. Wear all the rings, too." Heard is also said to have confided in her therapist that Jason Momoa told her he wanted to make sure she was fired.

The production company DC rejects this when asked by »Variety«: »Jason Momoa behaved professionally at all times on the set of ›Aquaman: Lost Kingdom‹.« Other, unnamed sources also cast doubt on Heard's testimony. Momoa likes to drink a beer every now and then, but never comes to filming drunk: "He doesn't dress up as Johnny Depp either. That's the bohemian style he's always had." Amber Heard did not want to comment on the rumored statements, but a source close to her at least confirmed that the notes referred to "Aquaman 2" and came from a therapy session on December 27, 2021.

At test screenings in the summer of 2022, »Aquaman: Lost Kingdom« performed mediocrely, according to »Variety«, which is why there were cuts and reshoots. Now there is a trailer and a start date – but due to the ongoing strike of the actors' union, there are no promo dates with the main actors. Maybe that's a good thing – there would be some awkward questions.

Feb