Amber Heard has denied a report that she is getting cut from “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” and her role as Mera is being recast.
“Warner Brothers decided to recast Amber Heard‘s role after screen testing the movie,” an insider reportedly told JustJared.
They were allegedly going to be doing reshoots with stars Jason Momoa and Nicole Kidman, the source claimed.
However, a representative for Heard denied the rumor to The Post, saying in a statement that the “rumor mill continues as it has from day one” and that it was “inaccurate, insensitive, and slightly insane.”
The Post has also reached out for comment from representatives for Warner Bros.
The troubled actress’ removal comes after her highly-publicized defamation trial with ex-husband Johnny Depp.
During her highly publicized defamation trial with ex-husband Johnny Depp, the 36-year-old troubled actress claimed that Warner Brothers “didn’t want to include me” in the DC Comics sequel.
Heard also noted that she was “actively scheduling timing for filming” the superhero movie up until Depp’s legal team reportedly launched a campaign against her. She said her scenes were drastically diminished in the film.
“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, without giving any spoilers away, two characters fighting with one another, and they basically took a bunch out of my role,” she told the Fairfax, Virginia, courtroom. “They just removed a bunch out.”
Heard claimed in testimony that the studio “didn’t want to include” her in the new project.
Heard’s WME agent, Jessica Kovacevic, testified during the trial that Warner Bros. claimed it was Heard’s “lack of chemistry” with her “Aquaman” co-star Jason Momoa that almost got her canned. However, Momoa allegedly advocated for the actress to keep the role. In addition, Kovacevic said she believed the studio wanted Heard removed as Princess Mera due to the “bad press” stemming from the court case.
“No one wants that association,” Kovacevic testified.
Kovacevic also discussed Heard’s career before and after her relationship with Depp, 58, saying she should have become a major star after the first movie’s premiere in late 2018, which grossed over $1 billion.
Heard previously testified about the alleged impact on her career in the wake of her relationship with Depp.
“I lost opportunities. I got dropped from jobs and campaigns. I fought to keep my job and the biggest movie opportunity I had to date [with] ‘Justice League’ with the option to [star in] ‘Aquaman,’ ” she said, adding that she had to “fight really hard” be a part of “Justice League” because it happened around the time of their divorce. Depp and Heard were married from 2015 to 2017.
Viewers have petitioned Warner Bros. for months to remove Heard from “Aquaman 2” amid her legal battles with the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star. To date, the petition has topped more than 4.6 million signatures.
“Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” is expected to premiere in theaters in March 2023.
The recasting rumor comes on the same day a snippet of Heard’s interview with “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie aired on NBC.
“To my dying day, I will stand by every word of my testimony,” she told Guthrie.
On June 1, a Fairfax, Virginia, jury awarded Depp, 58, more than $10 million after finding that his ex-wife defamed his reputation and damaged his career with her claims of domestic abuse in a 2018 op-ed she wrote for the Washington Post. He was additionally awarded $5 million in punitive damages; Heard, meanwhile, was given $2 million in compensatory damages and no punitive damages.