Amber Heard’s Aquaman 2 role ‘saved’ by Jason Momoa amid Johnny Depp lawsuit, court hears

Heard will star within the Aquaman sequel however her function has reportedly been drastically decreased (Image: AP)

The gripping courtroom proceedings resumed in Fairfax, Virginia on Monday, as former spouses Depp and Heard counter-sue one another for libel over a 2018 article the actress revealed in The Washington Put up. 

Within the op-ed, Heard opened up about her expertise as being a home abuse survivor however didn't point out Depp by title. Nonetheless, he argues that it prompt he was bodily and emotionally abusive in the direction of her throughout their marriage, and broken his status and profession. 

On Monday, former Hollywood movie producer Kathryn Arnold who's now an leisure business advisor and professional, took to the stand on Monday to testify as Heard’s witness. She spoke to the actress earlier than her courtroom look as preparation for her testimony. 

Arnold mentioned Heard’s function within the blockbuster Aquaman franchise and mentioned her casting ought to have been her ‘a star is born second’, propelling her Hollywood profession. 

Nonetheless, a petition to take away Heard from Aquaman 2 was launched in gentle of Depp’s lawsuit in opposition to her and has amassed over 4.3million signatures, nearing its 4.5m goal. 

She performed Mera within the 2018 blockbuster and can reprise her function for the following instalment, launched in 2023 (Image: Warner Bros.)

Heard stars alongside Jason Momoa within the blockbuster franchise (Image: Warner Bros., Rex Options)

Momoa was reportedly ‘adamant’ Heard maintain her function within the sequel (Image: FilmMagic)

Throughout her testimony, Arnold claimed Heard, 36, solely saved her function as a result of Momoa, who performs the movie’s titular superhero, and the film’s director James Wan ‘dedicated to her’ and have been ‘adamant she was within the movie’. 

Arnold informed jurors that the primary draft of the Aquaman sequel, formally titled Aquaman and the Misplaced Kingdom, featured her character Mera having a ‘sturdy romantic arc your entire movie and a few nice motion sequences’. 

Nonetheless, when Heard arrived on set for the shoot, a dressing up designer reportedly knowledgeable the actress that her look had been ‘diminished’. Heard was informed that her motion sequence had been ‘lower out’ and that her function was ‘radically decreased’. 

Former Hollywood producer turned Hollywood professional Kathryn Arnold testified as Heard’s witness because the trial resumed on Monday (Image: AFP through Getty Photographs)

The contentious trial between Depp and Heard continues (Image: Getty Photographs)

Arnold additionally denied that this was resulting from a reported lack of chemistry between Heard and Momoa. The leisure professional mentioned Heard was ‘combating for her life’ to be within the movie and was paid $2m (£1.6m) to star within the sequel, the identical wage she reportedly acquired for the primary instalment. 

It’s alleged that Momoa, 42, managed to renegotiate his wage for Aquaman 2 from an estimated $3m (£2.3m) to $15m (£12m). 

Later in her testimony, Arnold estimated Heard’s incomes losses have been between $45m (£36m) and $50m (£40m) because of the negativity surrounding the lawsuit.

It comes after Heard earlier testified that she was given a brand new script for Aquaman 2 with a ‘very pared-down model’ of her function. She additionally denied that she solely bought the function due to her connection to Depp.

Aquaman and the Misplaced Kingdom is about for launch in March 17, 2023. 

The trial continues.