These waters are becoming turbulent.
On the same day in mid-September that Warner Bros. released the trailer for its $215 million film “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” embarrassing documents from the libel trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard surfaced on Reddit, giving credence to whoever was behind it Studio new worries the film.
Depp fans paid legal costs for publishing documents from Heard’s therapist Dr. Dawn Hughes. The rough notes, scribbled on a notepad, were part of last year’s high-profile trial in which Depp largely prevailed. They describe a hostile “Aquaman” set in which a supposedly drunk Jason Momoa dressed like Depp and pushed for Heard to be dropped from the role of aquatic superhero Mera.
“Jason said he wanted me fired,” the notes say. “Jason is drunk – late on set. Dress like Johnny. Has all the rings too.”
A rep for Momoa declined to comment, but a DC spokesperson rejected Heard’s characterization, saying, “Jason Momoa always conducted himself professionally on the set of ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.'” Others shared that sentiment. “Jason works his ass off, likes a beer every now and then like everyone, but doesn’t come to set drunk,” says an insider who was on set in London in 2021, adding that the two stars got along well seen joking together. “And he doesn’t dress like Johnny Depp. He always dressed in a bohemian style.”
Heard declined to comment, but a source close to the actress confirmed that the notes relate to the “Aquaman 2” set and reflect a meeting on December 27, 2021. Another source close to the actress says her lawyers objected to the release of the therapy notes, which were subpoenaed by Depp’s lawyers during the investigation.
Momoa wasn’t the only “Aquaman” director to find himself in the crosshairs. The therapy session also painted a picture of Heard feeling unsupported by the film’s director, James Wan, and being treated like a pariah due to her high-profile legal battle with her ex-husband.
“He raised his voice at me – ‘I can’t even post anything about Aquaman’ – and acted like it was my fault – I said ‘I’m sorry,'” Hughes’ notes about Wan say. “Given the power outage, no one could take selfies with me on set.”
Wan declined to comment. The DC spokesperson says: “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.”
And yet Heard was almost fired, sources on both sides tell Variety. After the release of “Aquaman” in 2018, the studio and Wan decided to drop the actress from the sequel due to lack of chemistry between her and Momoa, and sent a letter to her lawyer Karl Austen informing him of their decision informed. (Former DC Films boss Walter Hamada testified in the libel trial about the “problem of chemistry.”) These sources underscore that the move to remove Heard from office had nothing to do with Depp and took place before he did so in 2019 filed a lawsuit against the actress. Momoa was also not involved in the decision-making. However, another source contradicted the lack of chemistry narrative, noting that Heard took a chemistry test with Momoa before landing the role of Mera, beating out two other actresses who had passed a similar chemistry test, including Abbey Lee.
Ultimately, the studio never pulled the trigger on Heard’s firing because her former boyfriend, Elon Musk, had one of his trial lawyers send a “scorched-earth letter to Warner Bros. threatening to burn the house down” if the actress would not be brought back for a sequel, says a source familiar with the behind-the-scenes battle. Warner Bros. gave in and went ahead with Heard. (Musk did not respond to a request for comment.)
The drama is heating up at a time when DC Entertainment is at the top James Gunn and Peter Safran are set to close the book on the previous regime’s superhero roster with the release of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom on December 20th. Since Warner Bros. bosses Pam Abdy and Mike De Luca joined the studio in June 2022 and Gunn and Safran joined four months later, the four have been burdened with DC types they inherited, including this year’s “The Flash.” ” ($271 million worldwide). ) and “Blue Beetle” ($128 million worldwide).
Still, the Aquaman sequel was promising considering the character’s first outing grossed $1.15 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing DC film of all time. However, sources say the sequel has endured challenges outside of the Heard saga and was tested in the ’60s before being recut in summer 2022. Despite the revision, the film was tested further in the 1960s, resulting in a new cut. “The film is like an echo of regimes,” says an insider. “It’s the last remnant of the Snyderverse, and no one really wants to own it.” Reshoots continued until this year’s WGA strike in May. The on-set source disputes the notion that “Aquaman 2” is problematic, pointing out that the film ran on time, under budget, and only required about a week of reshoots.
Like “Flash” and “Blue Beetle,” “Aquaman” can’t shake its lameness as the DC Universe undergoes an overhaul under new leadership, something Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav makes a top priority.
In fact, none of the stars Zack Snyder cast for 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and 2017’s Justice League – including Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller and Momoa – will reprise their roles in the series new DC Universe in character. Momoa could return, just not as Aquaman. According to sources, the actor has been in talks to play Lobo, either in the 2025 Gunn-written and directed reboot Superman: Legacy or in a standalone film. In a confusing twist, Viola Davis, who played Amanda Waller in the two current “Suicide Squad” films, will also play the character in next year’s Max series “Waller” and possibly in the new “Superman” in the Gunn-Safran DC Universe remain ” tentpole. Another outlier is Gunn’s Max series “Peacemaker,” which will return for a second season with John Cena in the lead role.
Meanwhile, there was some confusion on the show as to who the ultimate gatekeeper is. Unlike the Marvel-Disney relationship, where Marvel controls the creative process and Disney+ merely publishes the content, Max is creatively involved in DC planning. Gunn and Safran don’t enjoy the same autonomy as Marvel’s Kevin Feige. (A Max source says that the collaboration between the DC team and Max executives Sarah Aubrey and Casey Bloys went smoothly, including on the upcoming series “The Penguin,” which had to stop production after the WGA strike began. but filming is expected to resume as soon as the SAG-AFTRA strike ends.)
Regardless, some are convinced that another company, most likely Universal, will buy Warner Bros. within two years, making the recent subplots and shakeups at DC seem quaint.
“The bottom line is that they have to make DC work, whether Zaslav owns it, whether Brian Roberts owns it, whether someone else owns it,” says Rich Greenfield of LightShed, a Wall Street analyst and venture capitalist.
Ahead of the “Aquaman” sequel, Warner Bros. will be outwardly supporting the film, hoping for a Chinese release like “Barbie,” “The Flash” and “Shazam!” Fury of the Gods” received. After all, the first “Aquaman” grossed almost $300 million in China alone. But such China figures are a thing of the past. Neither “Barbie” nor “The Flash” grossed anywhere near as much as “Aquaman’s” 2018 hit Middle Kingdom, earning $35.1 million and $25.9 million, respectively.
Given the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, neither Momoa nor Heard will be promoting the film for now. But if the strike ends soon after the WGA reaches an agreement, the stars will hit the road, making it difficult for Warner Bros. and Wan to escape Heard’s accusations that her role has been significantly cut. At least two Heard scenes were cut from Aquaman 2 — an action sequence in which Mera fights Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), and a love scene with Momoa, according to people familiar with the production. Other signs of friction are hidden. This summer, Momoa unfollowed Heard on Instagram. According to a source, he even blocked Heard from following him.
Turbulence aside, the sequel could work at the box office. The first “Aquaman” was also a complete success in the initial test phases and was included in post-production. According to a studio source, “Aquaman 2” is following a similar path. The first shots show great interest and put the beginning of the film on a par with the first “Aquaman”.
“Everyone is excited about DC, but there’s a chance that ‘Aquaman’ still feels gangbusters due to a lack of product, especially given the limited competition during the holiday season,” said Jeff Bock, box office analyst at Exhibitor Relations. “Sometimes the right movie at the right time is all you need.”