The petition to remove Amber Heard from Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (Aquaman 2) was recently reignited because of the legal battle between the Mera actress and her ex-husband, Johnny Depp. Each actor accused the other of domestic violence and physical abuse when they were married, and a report about Amber Heard's screentime in the Aquaman sequel being reduced has made the headlines. A more recent report claims that she was removed from the DC sequel completely.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which is set to release in theaters on March 17, 2023, already wrapped up production last January, and Heard is expected to reprise her role as Mera, the daughter of King Nereus and princess of Sebel. She first played the role in James Wan's 2018 Aquaman movie, and also appeared in Justice League.
Now, fans want to know if Heard's screentime in the Aquaman sequel was reduced or if Warner Bros. and the producers of Aquaman 2 removed her completely following the recent verdict. Here's everything we know so far about Amber Heard's current involvement with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom:
Did Aquaman 2 reduce Amber Heard's screentime?
It's claimed that Amber Heard's screentime in Aquaman 2 has been drastically reduced as it's said that the star only appears as Mera for less than ten minutes in the movie.
The information comes from YouTuber Grace Randolph who previously tweeted Heard's role would be reduced in Aquaman 2 depending on whether or not there is bad press surrounding her and Depp.
On April 28, 2022, Randolph tweeted: "I hear Amber Heard has less than 10 min of screentime in Aquaman 2".
On April 29, The Direct reported that Heard's role would spend most of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom pregnant with her and the leading hero's child, potentially limiting her action sequences, but the extend of that is unclear.
During her defamation trial on May 16, Amber Heard said that following allegations of domestic abuse made by Depp's former attorney, her role in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was significantly reduced. She said that she was given new versions of her script that included action scenes, and "basically took a bunch out of my role."
Heard claims that Warner Bros. "didn't want to include me" in the upcoming Aquaman sequel. She said that she was "actively scheduling timing for filming" the second Aquaman film until Depp's team called her a liar regarding her abuse claims against Depp, Variety reported. Heard said that "communications" about Aquaman 2 "stopped at that point."
“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 spoiler aways, two characters fighting with one another, and they basically took a bunch out of my role,” Heard said. “They just removed a bunch out.”
On May 17, 2022, during the cross-examination, when Heard was asked by Johnny Depp's lawyer Camille Vasquez if she was replaced in Aquaman 2, she revealed that she was released from her contract, but fought to stay in it, and they kept her in it. However, she doesn't know how much of her role will be showed in the final cut.
"I just don't know how much I'm in, actually, of the final cut," she added.
When asked minutes later about the status of her role in the film, Heard replied, "As I said, I don't know if I will even be in the final cut or how much I will be. It was difficult to stay in the movie."
On May 20, WME's Jessica Kovacevic, Amber Heard's agent, virtually testified that she was told Warner Bros.' reason for allegedly reducing Heard's role in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was because of "the lack of chemistry between her and Jason."
Heard's agent said WME learned Heard's Aquaman 2 role was allegedly reduced when Heard received the script. Speaking about Heard's success after Aquaman, Kovacevic said that she believed Heard's career did not take off as much as Momoa's.
When asked how Heard's career was harmed, Kovacevic said, "In my experience ... Your career takes a turn after something like that. She was very well received in the movie at the time, everyone was happy with her at the time, there were no issues. Then to have a complete downturn after that, and then have that coincide with constant tweets and negativity put out about her, I don't have a physical piece of paper of evidence, but it's the only logical conclusion I draw."
The agent also said there were no "performance issues raised" with Heard's Aquaman role; instead, to her understanding, the 36-year-old actress "tested extremely well" for the movie.
Kovacevic noted the Aquaman star had not shot to the moon as might have been expected thanks to the DC role. The agent said:
"Because typically when you have an actor in a movie as successful as that, as Aquaman was, their career total changes… they’re more bankable. With her, that did not happen."
Related: DC Fans Rejoice After Learning About Amber Heard’s Shocking Aquaman 2 Screen Time
Is Amber Heard getting replaced in Aquaman 2?
Randolph also previously said that instead of Amber Heard reprising her role as Mera, another female actress will play another character in Aquaman 2, with some fans thinking that it will be Dolphin, who in the DC comics has also became Aquaman's love interest.
Some DC and Game of Thrones fans have expressed how they want Emilia Clarke to take over the role of Mera. Clarke starred with Jason Momoa in HBO's epic fantasy series, and there are already fan-made images that imagines her as Mera.
According to insiders such as KC Walsh, Dolphin is going to have some sort of role in the sequel.
Related: Why Amber Heard is Still in Aquaman 2
Did Warner Bros. delete all of Amber Heard's scenes in Aquaman 2?
The defamation case between Amber Heard and Johnny Depp concluded, with the jury awarding Depp $15 million in compensation and punitive damages and the Aquaman star getting $2 million in damages.
Following the verdict of this trial, reliable insider KC Walsh has reported that Warner Bros. pictures is set to remove the actress's scenes from Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. According to reports, a meeting between higher-ups was recently held to make the decision of deleting Heard's scenes from Aquaman 2.
In October 2022, Giant Freakin Robot reported that YouTuber Syl Abdul claim that Amber Heard is seemingly missing from Aquaman 2 reshoots.
According to the YouTube personality, just about everybody but Amber Heard is back on the set of Aquaman 2 for reshoots. While Abdul talked about the new scenes featuring Mera, he wasn't able to determine the identity of the actress portraying the character during the reshoots. Furthermore, he believes the identity of said actress is being under wraps by Warner Bros. Discovery.
In October 2022, Giant Freakin Robot reported that YouTube personality Syl Abdul claims that Amber Heard is missing from the reshoots for Aquaman 2. The YouTuber has said that almost everyone returned for reshoots except Heard and that the identity of the other actress who has replaced Heard is being kept under wraps.
However, at the time of this writing, Warner Bros. hasn't officially confirmed the removal of the actress's scenes from the sequel.
What is the petition to remove Amber Heard in Aquaman 2?
Back in December 2019, some fans started a Change.org petition asking to remove Amber Heard from Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
The petition, which is titled "Remove Amber Heard from Aquaman 2", has been receiving renewed support as the former couple's troubling relationship and disturbing details about their marriage are shared in the courtroom.
The petition to remove the actress was created by Jeanne Larson and directed toward DC Entertainment and Courtney Simmons, the SVP for Publicity & Communications for DC Warner Bros.
The description of the petition reads: "Men are victims of domestic abuse, just like women. This must be recognized, and action must be taken to prevent a known abuser from being celebrated within the entertainment industry".
“Do the right thing. Remove Amber Heard from Aquaman 2.”
The petition cites different incidents including the one where Heard allegedly punched Depp twice in the face and another instance where she allegedly severed his finger while in Australia.
At the time of this writing, the petition clears 4.6 million signatures, becoming one of the top-signed petitions in the world ever.