Discussions regarding Amber Heard’s potential recasting in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom were down to her on-screen relationship with Jason Momoa, says a Hollywood film executive.
Last December, the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) released James Wan’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
The movie, which served as a direct sequel to 2018’s Aquaman, was the 15th and final film in the DCEU ahead of James Gunn’s promised overhaul next summer.
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Momoa, 44, reprised his role as the project’s titular superhero while Heard, 38, also returned to make her fourth outing as Mera.
However, the release was marred by claims that Warner Bros. wanted to ‘drop the actress’ from the sequel entirely due to her famous defamation battle with ex-husband Johnny Depp, 61.
In court, Heard testified: “I fought hard to stay in the movie. They didn’t want to include me in the film. 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 any spoilers away, two characters fighting with one another."
“They basically took a bunch out of my role," she added. "They just removed a bunch.”
She also alleged that Momoa ‘wanted [her] fired’ from portraying the underwater heroine.
Following Heard’s testimony, former president of DC Studios Walter Hamada denied that Warner Bros. had purposefully cut her scenes from Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
Appearing in court on May 24, 2022, he confirmed the actress did have an option contract with the studio to play Mera in the Aquaman films, as per The Independent.
Hamada continued to say that the star’s involvement had not been impacted by anything said by Depp or his lawyer Adam Waldman.
When addressing Heard’s potential recasting, he chalked it up to her having a distinct lack of chemistry with Momoa.
“They didn’t really have a lot of chemistry together,” Hamada said. “The reality is, it’s not uncommon in movies for two leads to not have chemistry.”
He added that while a great on-screen relationship can be created through ‘movie magic and editorial’, it can take a ‘lot of effort to get there’.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom remains Heard’s latest film role while her ex-husband returned to the entertainment industry earlier this year to portray Louis XV in Jeanne du Barry.
Momoa meanwhile appeared alongside Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling in The Fall Guy and has projects such as the Minecraft Movie, In the Hand of Dante and Chief of War in post-production.
UNILAD has contacted representatives of Amber Heard and Jason Momoa for further comment.
Topics: Celebrity, Amber Heard, Johnny Depp, Jason Momoa, Aquaman, DC Comics, Entertainment, Film and TV
Ella Scott