Amber Heard appears in Aquaman 2 trailer amid campaign to remove her from the movie

Amber Heard’s fleeting appearance in the new trailer for Aquaman 2 has made quite a splash at CinemaCon 2023.

During the movie-industry event in Las Vegas, Warner Bros debuted the preview for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which will see Jason Momoa and Heard reprise their roles as aquatically gifted heroes and love interests Arthur and Mera. Though the trailer hasn’t been released to the public yet, the studio confirmed on Wednesday to the Los Angeles Times that Heard is in it.

According to Deadline, Heard’s Mera shows up briefly during a battle scene in the preview.

Reports of Heard’s cameo in the trailer surfaced years after Johnny Depp supporters launched an online campaign to remove her from the sequel. At press time, the virtual petition had received more than 4.6 million signatures.

The petition – which labels Heard a “domestic abuser” – got a major boost last spring when Heard and her ex-husband, Depp, traded allegations of domestic violence and abuse at their high-profile defamation trial in Virginia. The jury ended up awarding Depp more than US$10 million (NZ$16.2 million), while Heard received US$2 million (NZ$3.2 million).

STUART C. WILSON/GETTY IMAGESDuring the trial, Amber Heard testified that she nearly lost her role in Aquaman due to the media firestorm surrounding her legal battles with Johnny Depp.

“I’m heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence, and sway of my ex-husband,” Heard said in a statement after losing the case.

“It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously.”

During the trial, Heard testified that she nearly lost her role in Aquaman due to the media firestorm surrounding her legal battles with Depp. However, the then-president of Warner Bros Pictures claimed in a video deposition that Heard was almost recast because of a lack of onscreen “chemistry” between her and Momoa – not because of the Depp controversy.

“If you watch the movie, they look like they had great chemistry,” said former studio head Walter Hamada. “But I just know that through the course of post-production, it took a lot of effort to get there.”

WARNER BROSJason Momoa will reprise his role as Aquaman in the new movie.

Hamada disagreed with Heard again when she testified that her part in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom had been “pared down” because of the Depp situation. The film exec said that Heard’s Mera was never intended to be central to the sequel, again citing insufficient chemistry between her and Momoa.

Throughout the trial, both Heard and Depp garnered a mix of hate and support on social media – though animosity toward the former was more prevalent.

Directed by James Wan, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is scheduled to open in US theatres on December 20.