According to a new report, Amber Heard nearly didn’t return for ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ due to concerns about her chemistry with star Jason Momoa.
Heard makes her DC Extended Universe debut in Justice League as Mera, a princess from the underwater realm of Xebel who is initially seen guarding the Mother Box in Atlantis, only to be defeated by Steppenwolf as he flees with the box. Mera offers Arthur his armour and trident in the hopes of rescuing the planet, and persuades him to aid the Justice League in defeating Steppenwolf.
Highlights —
- Amber Heard almost didn’t return for ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’
- Eventually she was invited back!
Heard’s Mera would return in ‘Aquaman’ as the character’s principal love interest and foil, joining forces with Jason Momoa‘s titular hero to avoid a conflict between his half-brother, Orm Marius, and the surface. Along with Momoa and Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Temuera Morrison, and Randall Park will make appearances in ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’. Though the Aquaman sequel was recently postponed owing to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak hurting visual effects work, it appears the picture almost hit a bigger stumbling block earlier in its development.
Amber Heard almost didn’t return for ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’
As post-production for the DCEU sequel proceeds, a fresh story from Puck (via ComicBook.com) claims that Amber Heard almost didn’t return for ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’. According to sources, Warner Bros. first refused the actress’ option to return because to reservations about her chemistry with star Jason Momoa. According to reports, these worries stem from a deposition taken by DC Films President Walter Hamada, which will be used in her defamation dispute with ex-husband Johnny Depp.
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Eventually she was invited back!
Surprisingly, the current report also alleges that, while Heard was eventually invited back for ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’, she was not allowed to negotiate a wage raise for her role in the film. According to her team, her inability to request a raise is due to her relationship with Johnny Depp and their contentious divorce processes. Due to the issue between her and her ex-husband, Heard has apparently been unable to land any additional prominent roles or brand endorsements in recent months.
While it’s true that recasting superhero characters doesn’t always go over well with audiences, Heard’s inclusion in ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ has been a contentious topic among fans since she was confirmed to return, with some choosing to support her in the scandal while others defended Depp and his accusations of sexual misconduct levelled against her. Many further stated that if Warner Bros. was willing to recast Depp’s Grindelwald part in ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore’ with Mads Mikkelsen, then the same move should have been taken with Heard for the DCEU sequel, with some even suggesting for a boycott. Only time will tell if audiences respond in the same way to ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ as they did to its predecessor, which will be released in theatres on March 17, 2023, alongside Heard’s return.
