The rumors continue to swirl about Amber Heard and Aquaman 2, but the actress is trying to set the record straight.
At times, it can feel like we have never not been talking about Amber Heard, Johnny Depp, and their very public and discussed legal proceedings. It appears we are going to continue with that, as representatives for the Aquaman actress are insistent that she has not been cut from the upcoming Aquaman and the Last Kingdom, despite recent rumors. Per Variety, representatives for Amber Heard have issued a statement denying the rumor and that “The rumor mill continues as it has from day one — inaccurate, insensitive and slightly insane.” This is just the latest in the ongoing story about whether or not the actress will ultimately end up in the movie, have her screen time reduced (or increased), or have her character be recast with another actor.
For at least the time being, it seems that Amber Heard will indeed be in James Wan’s follow-up to 2018’s massively successful Aquaman. The first movie was something of a surprise hit, considering that the Aquaman character has historically been a second-tier hero in DC Comics and something of a pop culture joke. Despite that, the Jason Momoa-led film made over $1.1 billion at the box office, becoming the highest-grossing DCEU film of all time; it also vastly raised the profile of Amber Heard, who starred in the film as the character Mera. She would go on to reprise the character in Justice League (as well as the Zack Snyder’s Justice League version of the movie).
However, Amber Heard became much more prominent in the entertainment world after her divorce from Pirates of the Caribbean actor Johnny Depp and the publication of her editorial in the Washington Post in which she described herself as a survivor of abuse from an unnamed person. Depp would go on to sue Amber Heard for defamation of character, arguing that although he was not named in the article, it implied that he was the abuser. At the end of the very publicized civil court case, a jury found that Amber Heard had defamed Depp (and that Depp had also defamed her), awarding him the vast majority of damages. Heard is currently set to appeal that decision, and is countersuing Depp.
Amber Heard recently gave her first interview since the conclusion of that particular court case, in which she stood by her claims of abuse. She has become an enormously controversial public figure and has been the target of significant backlash from Johnny Depp’s supporters both online and in real life. Recently, a rumor of increased footage of Amber Heard in the upcoming movie has caused support for a boycott of the film. This has caused many to speculate that Warner Bros. would seek to minimize any potential damage this might do to the very important financial success of Aquaman and the Last Kingdom. For at least the moment, it appears that Warner Bros. may be sticking with Amber Heard through at least this film project. Aquaman and the Last Kingdom is currently scheduled to be released in March of 2023.
