Actress Amber Heard has released a statement following the debut of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, thanking fans for their support following her legal battle with Johnny Depp and her claims that her part in the sequel was scaled back.
She wrote, “After all this time, Aquaman 2 made its splash (sorry, it’s too easy). Thank you to all of my fans for the overwhelming support and love in Mera’s AQ return. Thank you so much.”
Heard shared some behind-the-scenes photos from the making of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, along with some videos on her Instagram story showing her doing stunt training.
The release of this statement comes after Heard said in her court case against Depp that Warner Bros. “didn’t want to include me” in the movie. She also said her part in the sequel was “pared down.” Director James Wan responded to this, saying his vision for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was always that the film would focus on Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and Orm (Patrick Wilson). The first movie, Wan said, was meant to highlight Mera more prominently.
“The first was a romance action-adventure movie, the second one is a bromance action-adventure movie. We’ll leave it at that,” Wan said.
Heard testified in court that she had to “fight really hard to keep my career” after obtaining a restraining order against Depp. “I lost opportunities. I got dropped from jobs and campaigns.” She also told the court that Warner Bros. “basically took a bunch out of my role.”
The high-profile court case between Heard and Depp ended in 2022, with Depp found to have defamed Heard. He was ordered to pay Heard $2 million. Depp, meanwhile, was awarded $10 million from Heard in compensatory damages.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom released at the end of December and has so far earned close to $259 million globally at the box office.
