Amber Heard claims her Aquaman 2 role was reduced due to Johnny Depp allegations

Amber Heard has claimed that her role in Aquaman 2 has been reduced following her court battle with former husband Johnny Depp.

Heard, who plays Mera in the franchise, says that, despite fighting "really hard to stay in the movie," she only ending up shooting a version that saw her role "very pared down" compared to the original drafts of the movie. 

"I was given a script, 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," Heard said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "They basically took a bunch out of my role. They just removed a bunch."

She went on to reveal that she was paid $2 million for the role, double her payment for the first movie, in which she was Jason Momoa's co-lead, and that she "couldn’t renegotiate" her contract. 

Heard's claims contradict Aquaman 2 producer Peter Safran, who said that "pure fan pressure" would not lead to any changes in Heard's role. "You have to do what’s right for the film, and that’s really where we landed on it," he said last July. 

However, since those comments were made just after initial photography had started, Heard has entered into a very public court case with Depp, in which the Pirates of the Caribbean actor is suing Heard for defamation. Aquaman 2 was shooting through until January 2022, with THR noting that there was "plenty of time for changes to have been made" to the movie along the way.

Warner Bros. has declined to comment on Heard's role in the sequel, which is being directed by James Wan. The movie's full title is Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom – find out more about upcoming superhero movies through that link.