Amber HeardΒ has furiously clapped back at claims she is being dropped from her $2 million role in the Aquaman sequel after it was reported that she was due to be cut from the movie and recast – just hours after the actress landed herself at the center of another scandal by repeating her allegations of abuse against ex-husbandΒ Johnny Depp, despite being found guilty of defamation for accusing him of π eπ₯ual assault.
In the wake of bitter backlash against the star over the interview,Β Just JaredΒ reported thatΒ the 36-year-old actress – who has already completed filming on the sequel to the 2018 sci-fi movie in which she starred alongsideΒ Jason MomoaΒ – had officially been dropped from Aquaman 2, alleging that Warner Bros ‘screentested the movie’, which is due to premiere in December, and concluded that Heard’s scenes should be reshot with another actress.
‘Warner Bros. decided to recast Amber Heard’sΒ role after screentesting the movie,’ a source claimed to the website. ‘They are going to be doing reshoots with [her former co-stars] Jason Momoa and Nicole Kidman.’
DailyMail.comΒ has contacted Warner Bros. for comment – however a spokesperson for Heard quickly shut down any rumors about their client’s axing from the movie, tellingΒ DailyMail.com: ‘The rumor mill continues as it has from day one – inaccurate, insensitive, and slightly insane.’
Serious doubts were already cast over Heard’s future with the DC franchise amid her and Depp’s marathon six-week defamation trial,Β during which Warner Bros executive Walter Hamada testified that producers had already considered recasting the actress over concerns about her lack of ‘natural chemistry’ with co-star Momoa.
An online petition to get Heard dropped from the sequel was also started towards the end of the legal proceedings – gaining 4.6 million signatures in a matter of weeks.
Amber Heard is ‘being cut from Aquaman 2 and her role will be recast’, sources have claimed, just weeks after she lost her defamation trial against Johnny Depp and was ordered to pay him more than $8 million in damages
The claims come two weeks after the end of a six-week defamation trial between Heard and Depp, 59, (seen in court) with a jury ruling that the actress was guilty of defaming her ex-spouse, whom she was ordered to pay over $8 million in damages
An online petition to get Heard dropped from the sequel was also started towards the end of the legal proceedings – gaining 4.6 million signatures in a matter of weeks
The petition alleges that Heard was ‘exposed as a domestic abuser by Depp’ during their multimillion-dollar court battle.
Hamada testified to the court that producers had to ‘fabricate’ chemistry between the two actors, while admitting that the studio delayed announcing Heard’s part in the sequel for weeks because of ‘conversations about recasting’ her role.
He added that the issues were raised as the filming of the first Aquaman film concluded because of the ‘chemistry’ between Heard and Momoa.
‘Editorially they were able to make that relationship work in the movie. There was a concern it took a lot of effort to get there,’ he explained, noting that Warner Bros was considering ‘someone with better more natural chemistry with Jason Momoa and move forward that way.’
Hamada denied that Heard’s $2 million payment for the role was impacted by anything that had been said about her by Depp or his lawyer Adam Waldman, after the actress’s legal team claimed that she could have renegotiated her fee from $2 million for the first Aquaman movie to $6 million for the sequel had she not been spoken about negatively in the press.
He also denied Heard’s claims that her character, Mera, saw her role reduced dramatically during filming, including having an action scene taken away from her.
Under questioning from one of Depp’s lawyers, he said that the ‘character’s involvement was what it was from the beginning.’
Hamada said that ‘from the early stages of development of the script the movie was building around the character of Arthur and Orm’, played by Jason Momoa and Patrick Wilson respectively.
They were ‘always the co-leads of the movie’ and not Heard. Hamada said: ‘The movie was always pitched as a buddy comedy between Jason Momoa and Patrick Wilson.’
