According to producers, the creative team behind the upcoming Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom gave no credence whatsoever to the online petition calling on Warner Bros. to remove actor Amber Heard from the movie. Indeed, Aquaman and the Lost of Kingdom began production on July 19, and Heard is reprising her role as Atlantean queen Mera.
The public appeal was another one of those things that makes you question what the internet is ultimately good for–Heard has characterized the appeal previously as a “paid campaign” instigated by fans of her ex-husband Johnny Depp, who previously was asked to back from his role in Fantastic Beasts 3 after a UK tabloid called him a “wife-beater.”
But, in a new podcast interview released by Deadline, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom producer Peter Safran said, “I don’t think we’re ever going to react to, honestly, pure fan pressure… You gotta do what’s best for the movie. We felt that if it’s [director] James Wan, and Jason Momoa, it should be Amber Heard. That’s really what it was.”
Safran also added that “one is not unaware of what is going on in the Twitter-verse, but that doesn’t mean you have to react to it or take it as gospel or accede to their wishes.” Ultimately, said Safran, “You have to do what’s right for the film.”
There’s also an animated Aquaman show, titled Aquaman: King of Atlantis, heading to HBO Max. The series doesn’t have a premiere date yet, but the first artwork was revealed back in February. One Aquaman-related project we won’t be getting however is the spin-off movie The Trench, which isn’t moving past the development stage.
For more, check out GameSpot’s guide to every upcoming DC movie and TV show we know about so far.
