In a Virginia court Monday during the controversial, ongoing defamation trial with Johnny Depp, Amber Heard testified that her role in Aquaman 2 was significantly “pared down” as a direct result of the dramatic legal battle going on with her ex-husband.
Heard first made her debut as the DC Comics character Mera in Justice League in 2017 as part of a three-picture deal. The second film, 2018’s Aquaman, saw Heard in even more of a leading role alongside Jason Momoa’s titular character. Millions of fans signed a petition for her to be removed from the sequel, 2023’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, in light of her legal battle with Depp. Producer Peter Safran declined, telling Deadline’s Hero Nation podcast that “One is not unaware of what is going on in the Twitter-verse, but that doesn’t mean you have to react to it or take it as gospel or accede to their wishes.” But it appears that even though she’s still in the film, her momentum in the franchise has been halted — reports state about she has about 10 minutes of screen time in the movie.
