Johnny Depp Vs Amber Heard: DC Films president says actress was almost dropped from Aquaman 2 over chemistry issues with Jason Momoa

Virginia: The head of DC Films at Warner Bros., Walter Hamada, testified that the Johnny Depp incident had no bearing on Amber Heard’s future in the Aquaman series. Instead, he said, a lack of chemistry was to blame. Heard, 36, testified in a defamation trial in Fairfax, Virginia, that she “fought really hard to stay in” Aquaman 2 because “they didn’t want to include me in the movie.” Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom has already been shot and is expected to be released in March 2023, however, Heard said that her role as Mera, Jason Momoa’s titular character’s love interest and the female action star was “very pared down.”

“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,” Amber said as per PEOPLE. Furthermore, Heard’s talent representative, Jessica Kovacevic, testified that the actress’ career did not take off as planned after her appearance in the 2018 movie. According to the agency, Heard was given a smaller role in the next sequel due to her “lack of chemistry” with co-star Momoa, 42. Kovacevic, on the other hand, said that the studio’s decision to distance itself from Heard was due to bad publicity and online assaults hurled at her after Depp’s team claimed her domestic violence charges were a “hoax.”

However, Depp’s legal team had Hamada testify via pre-recorded deposition from March on Tuesday. He said that no statements made by Depp or his counsel had any bearing on Heard’s role in the sequel. He also said that there were studio conversations concerning Heard and Momoa’s “lack of chemistry.” After the first Aquaman film was completed, there were “concerns” about Heard not having a “natural” connection with Momoa, and some pondered recasting for a new female lead. However, no other females were auditioned. Interestingly, it was also stated that he and Momoa addressed the chemistry problem at the time.