According to an industry expert, the studio wanted to remove the Mera depicter from 'Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom', but her co-star and the film's director fought to keep her.
- May 24, 2022
AceShowbiz - Jason Momoa and James Wan may have helped save Amber Heard's job. As the defamation trial between the actress and her ex-husband Johnny Depp continues, it has been revealed in court that the Hawaiian native and the director prevented Warner Bros. from removing Heard from "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom".
On Monday, May 23, entertainment industry consultant Kathryn Arnold was brought in as a witness on Heard's behalf. Taking the stand in Fairfax, Virginia, Arnold said that due to bad press surrounding the actress' legal battle with Depp, she was almost straight-up fired from the sequel.
"Ms. Heard was not invited to be either in the poster or to be at the [FanDome] event, and, in fact, they told her she cannot come," Arnold said in her testimony. Moreover, she said that the studio pushed to cut the actress altogether from "Aquaman 2", but Momoa and Wan fought to keep her in the film.
"In February 2021, there were conversations that Amber's, I'm going to be technical with you, her option for employment was not going to be exercised. So they may not have hired her again," Arnold said. "Her management team fought very hard and they ultimately ended up hiring her, but not only because of what her management did, but also because star Jason Momoa and director James Wan committed to her."
Arnold went on to say that Heard's career has been affected by the case, but noted that the lawsuits hurt Depp's career as well. "Every time he has filed a lawsuit it has brought to light various issues with respect to whatever that lawsuit was about… whether it was about erratic behavior, or domestic abuse, or drugs and alcohol and even spending habits," she said.
As to how Heard's op-ed may have impacted Depp's career, Arnold said, "Very little. Hardly anybody knew the op-ed existed before he filed suit." She argued that the op-ed "kind of came in and out of the radar very quickly if anybody even saw it at all."
Previously, Heard testified how her part was reduced significantly in "Aquaman 2". "I have. I fought really hard to stay in the movie," she said while testifying in the trial on May 16. "They didn't want to include me in the film." When asked to elaborate, she added that although she's in "The Lost Kingdom", it's "a very pared down version of that role."
"I was given a script," the Mera depicter 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," she added of the changes that were made to her role in the sequel.
