Amber Heard was apparently drowning on the set of “Aquaman.”
But in true Marvel fashion her ex Elon Musk came to the rescue.
According to a new blockbuster report released by Variety, the 37-year-old actress was allegedly almost fired from the franchise and asked not to return to the watery sequel “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” until the Tesla CEO strong-armed Warner Bros. into rethinking their decision.
The drama can be traced back to the messy, high-profile Johnny Depp-Amber Heard defamation trial, during which documents surfaced from Heard’s therapist, Dr. Dawn Hughes, which had been subpoenaed by Depp’s attorneys during discovery in the case.
The intimate notes scribbled on a legal pad described a contentious “Aquaman” set “where an allegedly intoxicated Jason Momoa dressed like Depp and pushed to have Heard booted from the role of aquatic superhero Mera,” according to Variety.
During the trial, Heard alleged that she was in constant danger of being eradicated from the film.
“I fought to keep my job and the biggest movie opportunity I had to date [with] ‘Justice League’ with the option to [star in] ‘Aquaman.’ I had to fight really hard to stay in ‘Justice League’ because that was the time of the divorce,” Heard testified while on the stand.
“I was given a script [for ‘Aquaman 2’] 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.”
While Momoa’s camp declined to comment, a DC spokesperson refuted Heard’s claims to Variety, saying, “Jason Momoa conducted himself in a professional manner at all times on the set of ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.’”
Others echoed that sentiment, according to Variety’s reporting. “Jason works his ass off, likes to have a beer once in a while like everyone, but doesn’t show up drunk to set,” says an insider who was on the London set in 2021, adding that the two stars got along and were seen joking together. “And he isn’t dressing like Johnny Depp. He has always dressed in that bohemian style.”
According to a source who spoke to Variety, Heard was reportedly indeed very close to being dropped from “Aquaman.” Heard’s attorney, Karl Austen, was sent a letter from Warner Bros. and the film’s director, James Wan, citing that she lacked chemistry with Momoa and would not be asked to return to the sequel.
Walter Hamada, a Former DC Films boss, testified in the defamation trial about the “issue of chemistry.”
In the end, Heard reportedly kept the role because her former lover had one of his litigators send a “scorched-earth letter to Warner Bros. threatening to burn the house down” if the actress wasn’t in the sequel, says a source. Warner Bros. caved under the pressure from the 52-year-old X CEO and moved forward with Heard.
The Post has reached out to representatives for Musk, Heard, Momoa, DC, Warner Bros and James Wan for comment.
