This Amber Heard situation got uglier than anyone realized! And Elon Musk was in her corner the whole time escalating things!
As the release of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom approaches, it’s not the anticipation that’s building — it’s the controversy! Variety dropped a bombshell report on Tuesday speaking to multiple sources close to Amber AND Warner Bros about the rumors she was almost fired from the franchise.
Sources from both sides confirmed Amber was on the chopping block after the release of the billion-dollar blockbuster. Supposedly director James Wan had decided to fire the leading lady, who played Atlantean warrior Mera, due to her lack of chemistry with star Jason Momoa. He reportedly even sent a letter to Amber’s attorney, Karl Austen, informing him of the decision. This is in line with what former DC Films boss Walter Hamada testified in court, too.
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Obviously there’s plenty of reason to believe the decision to fire Amber was to try to get out from under the controversy. Think how much less money box office dud The Flash might have lost if they hadn’t had all that Ezra Miller controversy turning folks away. But WB sources claim it had nothing to do with Amber’s legal drama — and the move to remove her from the sequel took place before Johnny Depp filed his initial suit in 2019.
Yet those supporting The Rum Diary alum poked some holes in the chemistry narrative, noting Amber did a chemistry test with Jason before landing the role initially — and even beat out two other actresses, including Mad Max actress Abbey Lee. So she must have had some chemistry with him. Maybe it just didn’t translate to screen as much as they wanted? Or maybe the co-stars really did have issues with each other behind the scenes? Or others had problems with her behavior on set? Hmm…
The question is, why didn’t WB fire her? We mean, we know she’s returning for the upcoming sequel — which is plagued with problems, many of which are directly related to bringing her back. Well, she apparently has her billionaire ex-boyfriend to thank!
A confidant familiar with the behind-the-scenes controversy told Variety the richest man in the world used his considerable power to THREATEN Warner Bros! The Tesla CEO had one of his litigators send a “scorched-earth letter to Warner Bros. threatening to burn the house down” if Amber wasn’t brought back for the sequel. Sorry, to BURN DOWN Warner Bros?? Wowza! On the one hand, we can’t believe that worked — but we guess Elon’s reputation for pettiness preceded him, even before he lost billions buying Twitter just to turn it into his own politically problematic playground. Would he have bought Warners, too?? Seems like a very real possibility in retrospect. Scary thought…
Unfortunately for Amber, it’s been reported her role has been significantly cut — and at least two scenes were removed from the final edit, including a sequence in which she fights Black Manta and a love scene with Momoa, those familiar with the production revealed. Damn.
Well, we guess once Elon was out of the picture it was too late to fire her — but not too late to hang her out to dry!
[Image via Warner Bros. Pictures/YouTube/MEGA/WENN]
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