Amber Heard reportedly has a significantly shorter role in the upcoming movie Aquaman 2.
The 36-year-old actress has been under increased scrutiny on social media as more details emerge from her ongoing trial against ex-husband Johnny Depp.
A petition to have her cut from the movie has reached over 2.8 million signatures at Change.org.
Heard portrays Atlantean princess Mera in the superhero Aquaman in 2018 and was subject to rumors about losing her role in the sequel.
Amber Heard’s role in Aquaman reduced to 10 minutes, fans want her complete removal
According to film journalist and Critics Choice Award member Grace Randolph, Amber Heard’s role in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom has less than 10 minutes of screen time.
“I hear #AmberHeard has less than 10 min of screentime in #Aquaman2,” she wrote in a tweet.
But this move isn’t enough for Depp fans, who want Amber completely removed from the film.
In November 2020, rumors swirled that Amber would not be reprising her role as Mera following allegations of domestic abuse the actress made against her by her ex-husband Johnny Depp.
A petition to have Heard fired from the franchise gained traction after Depp was reportedly removed from Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore when he lost a defamation lawsuit against The Sun after the tabloid labeled him a wife-beater.
The petition claims that Heard “has been exposed” as a “domestic abuser,” citing Depp’s $50 million lawsuit. The fan-led campaign also mentions the 36-year-old actress’s 2009 arrest for allegedly abusing a former domestic partner, Tasya Van Ree.
Aquaman producer responds to Amber Heard critics
Aquaman producer Peter Safran dismissed the fan-led campaign to remove Heard from the DC sequel. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is scheduled to be released on March 17, 2023.
“I don’t think we’re ever going to react to, honestly, pure fan pressure,” Safran told Deadline‘s Hero Nation podcast via The Hollywood Reporter, continuing:
“You gotta do what’s best for the movie. We felt that if it’s James Wan and Jason Momoa, it should be Amber Heard. That’s really what it was. One is not unaware of what is going on in the Twitter-verse, but that doesn’t mean you have to react to it or take it as gospel or accede to their wishes. You have to do what’s right for the film, and that’s really where we landed on it.”
Amber Heard hasn’t been promoting Aquaman 2
In January, the Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom director James Wan announced that the film had finished filming on his Instagram account.
However, Heard was not tagged nor did she appear in the Instagram photo with Jason Momoa and Patrick Wilson despite playing a significant role as Aquaman’s love interest.
In addition, the actress has hardly mentioned her role in the movie on social media.
In October 2021, Heard shared a photo wearing red hair in the signature style of her character Mera, writing “Red-dy.”
The actress is set to testify in the ongoing trial against her former husband, Johnny Depp.