Aquaman 2 director James Wan responded for the first time to allegations that Amber Heard’s role in the film was “paired down,” as the actress has put it.
“I always pitched this to everyone from the get-go. The first Aquaman was Arthur (Jason Mamoa) and Mera’s (Heard) journey. The second movie was always going to be Arthur and Orm (Patrick Wilson),” Wan told recently. “So, the first was a romance action-adventure movie, the second one is a bromance action-adventure movie. We’ll leave it at that.”
Last year, Heard said — as part of her testimony during her trial against former partner Johnny Depp — that her part in the sequel to 2018’s “Aquaman” had been “very pared down.”
“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,” Heard said during the trial. “They just removed a bunch out.”
Former DC boss Walter Hamada gave testimony at the trial that seems to line up with Wan’s statement.
“The character’s involvement in the story was what it was from the beginning,” Hamada said of Mera’s prominence in the film. He called it a “buddy-comedy” sequel, with Momoa and Wilson as “co-leads.”
Heard’s agent testified her role was reduced because of “the lack of chemistry between her and Jason.”
