After many years of speculation, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will finally hit theaters with Amber Heard on it. But besides Warner’s attempts to have a controversy-free premiere, users have been eager to expose all the drama behind the second installment of the superhero movie.
The movie was tarnished with gossip last year during the infamous and highly public trial between Amber Heard and Johnny Depp in which it was revealed that the production didn’t want Heard to reprise her role of Mera for the second movie. Back in the day, director James Wan declared that the second movie wouldn’t deal with Aquaman’s love interest so there was no point in having Mera back on the movie.
Now, more information has been unearthed. This year it was revealed that Amber Heard would be back in the movie for a mall appearance. Just last month, Warner released the trailer of the upcoming film, and fans, not precisely Heards, had a plan to boycott her movie. The very same day the trailer was released, Johnny Depp fans published documents from the defamation trial that had been concealed from the public.
Fans paid the court fees for the release of said documents. Specifically, they asked for the documents presented by Amber Heard’s therapist, Dr. Dawn Hughes. The documents were legal pads with handwritten information of their sessions and the ones published specifically discussed the “hostile set of Aquaman.”
Jason Momoa Bullying Amber Heard?
According to these documents, Amber recalled a couple of incidents with his co-star Jason Momoa. In one of these events, Momoa allegedly appeared on set drunk and dressed like Johnny Depp. Allegedly, he was very open about wanting her out of the movie. “Jason said he wanted me fired. Jason drunk late on set. Dressing like Johnny. Have all the rings too,” can be read in the therapy notes.
Soon after, a DC spokesperson refuted Heard’s accusations claiming that “Jason Momoa conducted himself in a professional manner at all times on the set of ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.'” Other sources close to the production added that “Jason works his ass off, likes to have a beer once in a while like everyone, but doesn’t show up drunk to set.” More insiders jumped to defend Momoa; a person who worked on the London set in 2021, added that Heard and Momoa used to joke together and more importantly that he “isn’t dressing like Johnny Depp. He has always dressed in that bohemian style.”
Amber Heard’s reps declined to comment on the matter and the documents. But a source close to Heard revealed to Variety, that the notes published indeed refer to the set of Aquaman 2. They added that these particular notes refer to a session that happened on December 27, 2021. It’s always known that Amber’s lawyers really fought to keep the therapy notes private although they had been subpoenaed by Johnny Depp’s attorneys when finding out about them.
Director James Wan Also Fought to Get Amber Out of the Film
According to the notes, Jason Momoa wouldn’t be the only one who wanted Heard to be fired from the movie. Hughe’s notes also accused director James Wan; Heard claimed she felt unsupported by the director who would treat her like a “pariah” due to the high-profile trial. “He raised his voice at me — ‘I can’t even post about Aquaman’ — made it like it was my fault – I said ‘I’m sorry. Nobody could take selfies with me on set given blackout.”
Although Wan also declined to comment on the matter, another DC spokesperson (or maybe the same that defended Momoa, it’s not clear) declared that “James is known for treating members of his cast and crew with the utmost respect and for fostering a positive, collaborative environment on set, the ‘Aquaman’ films were no exception.”
Although this has become a matter of she-said-he-said, it seems that Amber Heard’s appearance in the film was actually an issue for the production. Another piece of information that has now been revealed is that despite the studio’s attempts to have her out of the sequel, they were eventually forced to take her back.
Elon Musk’s Threats
According to Variety, sources close to both sides claim that Amber was nearly fired from the sequel. Following the successful release of the first installment in 2018, Warner and Wan wanted to drop Heard from the sequel. The main reason was the lack of chemistry between her and Jason Momoa. They were so keen to remove her from the project that they even approached her lawyer Karl Austen to inform them of the decision.
If you followed the Heard vs. Depp trial you might remember that former DC Films boss Walter Hamada testified about the chemistry problem between Heard and Momoa, so, unlike what the therapy notes say, the decision to drop Amber from the sequel wasn’t the infamous trial. As a matter of fact, the decision was made one year before Depp’s suit in 2019.
More importantly, according to the sources, Jason Momoa had nothing to do with the decision. Although sources close to Heard have pointed out that both actors had a chemistry test before the first movie and it hadn’t been an issue. Still, as critics of the movie highlighted, fans didn’t really see the connection between Mera and Arthur Curry.
But that’s unimportant, the real revelation here is that despite the studio’s attempt to drop Amber, they were forced to keep her on the sequel thanks to Elon Musk. According to the story, Musk, Amber’s former boyfriend, lent her one of his powerful litigators to send a “scorched-earth letter to Warner Bros. threatening to burn the house down” if they fired Heard from the sequel.
Neither Warner nor Musk have commented on the matter, but if the information that’s coming from the inside of the production is true, Elon Musk’s power might’ve been the reason why Amber still has a role, smaller than the one they offered when she signed for two movies, but a role and a paycheck.