An Aquaman producer has confirmed a long-standing rumor about Amber Heard and Jason Momoa.
Amber Heard and Jason Momoa starred in Aquaman together. Credit: Raymond Hall/GC Images/Getty Images
There's been a lot of back and forth about the Aquaman movies ever since Heard was embroiled in a highly-publicized legal battle with her ex-husband Johnny Depp.
It all started in 2018 after Heard, 38, published an op-ed in The Washington Post in which she referred to herself as a victim of domestic abuse and while she did not name Depp, 60, in the piece, the Pirates of the Caribbean actor filed a defamation suit against his ex-wife.
When the jury decided in Depp's favor, Heard was initially ordered to pay more than $10 million in damages to Depp, however, the final figure she owed was lowered due to limitations in the state. Depp, meanwhile, was ordered to pay Heard $2 million after she filed a countersuit accusing him of defamation after his lawyer, Adam Waldman, called her abuse claims a "hoax."
Heard and Depp were embroiled in a legal battle that ended in 2022. Credit: Roy Rochlin/Getty
Heard initially appealed the ruling but dropped that effort, taking to Instagram to explain that she made this decision so she could leave this all behind and move forward with her life.
In a separate legal battle in the UK back in 2020, Depp lost a libel case against The Sun after he sued the newspaper for publishing an article calling him a "wife beater."
Credit: Tim P. Whitby / Getty
Despite the court cases finally coming to a close, it seems as though the pair have been remaining relatively low while trying to get their lives back on track after such an explosive legal battle.
Both Heard and Depp have taken a step back from their on-screen roles - some opportunities lost, while others were paused due to their own decisions.
However, Heard still made an appearance in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, the sequel to the first movie, but she had a reduced screen time, with the actress stating that some scenes were "taken away", according to the Daily Mail.
Heard said that some of her scenes in Aquaman 2 were "taken away." Credit: Presley Ann/FilmMagic/Getty
But there's a reason for this, as per an explanation provided by a Warner Bros executive.
Walter Hamada revealed that Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was always intended to focus on the titular character and his friend, with Heard’s character secondary, that's the reason why she appeared less in the sequel.
There were rumors of "chemistry" issues between Heard and Momoa too - which Hamada confirmed to be true.
Momoa and Heard were said to have a lack of "chemistry" on Aquaman 2. Credit: Roy Rochlin/Getty
"They didn’t really have a lot of chemistry together," Hamada said, as per the Independent. "The reality is, it’s not uncommon on movies for two leads to not have chemistry."
He added that chemistry can be fabricated through “movie magic and editorial” and a "great score."
"If you watch the movie, they look like they had great chemistry. I just know that through the course of the post-production it took a lot of effort to get there," he added.