It looks like the production for Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom was filled with all kinds of crazy drama! The following information comes from a report shared by Variety, and it includes allegations of Jason Momoa showing up to the set drunk and Amber Heard almost being fired, but saved by Elon Musk.
Variety got some of this information from the notes written by Heard’s therapist, Dr. Dawn Hughes, which were part of last year’s high-profile trial between Depp and Heard. Those notes described that the set of Aquaman 2 was a hostile one. There are claims that not only did Momoa get drunk, but he also dressed like Johnny Depp and pushed to have Heard fired. The notes say:
“Jason said he wanted me fired. Jason drunk — late on set. Dressing like Johnny. Has all the rings too.”
A DC spokesperson responded to these allegations, saying:
“Jason Momoa conducted himself in a professional manner at all times on the set of ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.’ Jason works his ass off, likes to have a beer once in a while like everyone, but doesn’t show up drunk to set, and he isn’t dressing like Johnny Depp. He has always dressed in that bohemian style.”
Heard also said she felt “unsupported” by the film’s director James Wan, and “treated like a pariah because of her high-profile legal battle with her ex-husband.” The notes read:
“He raised his voice @ me — ‘I can’t even post about Aquaman’ — made it like it was my fault – I said ‘I’m sorry,’ Nobody could take selfies with me on set given blackout.”
A DC spokesperson responded to that, saying:
“James is known for treating members of his cast and crew with the utmost respect and for fostering a positive, collaborative environment on set — the ‘Aquaman’ films were no exception.”
Now, according to inside sources, Wan and the studio actually did decide to fire Heard from the movie at one point. “Following Aquaman’s release in 2018, the studio and Wan decided to drop the actress from the sequel due to her lack of chemistry with Momoa and sent a letter to her attorney, Karl Austen, informing him of its decision. (Former DC Films boss Walter Hamada testified in the defamation trial about the “issue of chemistry.”) Those sources underscore that the move to bounce Heard was unrelated to Depp and took place before he filed suit against the actress in 2019. Likewise, Momoa was not involved in the decision-making.”
Another source pushed back on the lack-of-chemistry narrative, noting “that Heard did a chemistry test with Momoa before landing the role of Mera and beat out two other actresses who did a similar chemistry test, including Abbey Lee.”
Heard obviously wasn’t fired, and the reason for that is because of her former boyfriend, Elon Musk. It’s explained that he had one of his litigators send a “scorched-earth letter to Warner Bros. threatening to burn the house down” if the actress wasn’t brought back for a sequel. So, WB didn’t fire her and they kept Heard on board.
All of these reports coming out now, regardless of what the truth is in this situation, definitely aren’t going to help Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom when it’s released in theaters. The whole thing just sounds like a complete mess!
