Warner Bros. is not firing Amber Heard despite her bad publicity from the ongoing defamation suit against her. But they may have figured their way around things.
Grace Randolph tweeted steps might be taken to reduce Heard’s part in Aquaman 2 if need be. The same holds true for Johnny Depp.
Related: Amber Heard Staying On for Aquaman 2
While “definitely in #Aquaman2,” Randolph wrote, “they are shooting so that Depp & Heard’s roles can be decreased if bad press…”
Randolph adds a new female character will be added. This character could potentially replace Mera and provide an in for Emilia Clarke if the studio is taking a serious look at the Game of Thrones star.
The defamation case has already been delayed before. Depp and Heard were tentatively summoned to a Virginia court in November but he is working on Fantastic Beasts 3 in the UK.
WB needs his services until February so their legal department sent a letter to the VA court stating, “we require Mr. Depp to be in the United Kingdom from September 17 through the anticipated end of production in mid-February, 2021.”
A postponement until summertime was asked for. Heard and her people are okay with that as long as the court date doesn’t conflict with the production of Aquaman 2, scheduled to set sail in June.
The defamation trial should last about three weeks, depending on how VA’s Supreme Court works around both parties’ filming schedules.
Related: James Wan Says Aquaman 2 Will Be “More Relevant In The World We Are Living In Today”
Previous postponements were due to coronavirus concerns. Those concerns might still have an effect on Aquaman 2 and Fantastic Beasts 3 as the pandemic has affected every other film shoot right now.
Aquaman 2 isn’t due out until December of 2022 so all involved there should have less to worry about. Fantastic Beasts 3 is slated for next year on Nov. 12th so it has a rigid schedule.
It’s a little late for Warner to be doing damage control and bizarre at that. Rumors claimed they didn’t really care about the scandal between ex-husband and wife Depp and Heard, though they’re under contract.
Hedging your bets to prepare for possible and further bad press is not proactive at this stage, especially after it came out someone took a dump in another person’s bed.