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Will Amber Heard act again? A look at actor’s scheduled films amid Johnny Depp trial

Heard is said to have lost $50m (£38.2m) in earnings as a result of the scandal surrounding Depp dispute

Nicole Vassell
Wednesday 01 June 2022 07:18 BST
Amber Heard discusses Aquaman 2 role being cut down

The jury began deliberations on 27 May in Johnny Depp’s defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard.

Depp is suing Heard for $50m (£38.2m), alleging that Heard implied that he abused her in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed about domestic violence.

Though the article does not mention him by name, Depp claims that the piece has resulted in him losing work.

In response, Heard is countersuing Depp for $100m (£80.9m), accusing him of orchestrating a “smear campaign” against her and describing his lawsuit as a continuation of “abuse and harassment”.

On Monday (23 May), entertainment industry expert Kathryn Arnold testified that she found the op-ed had no impact on Depp’s career, but the surrounding scandal had cost Heard up to $50m in earnings.

Last week (Monday 16 May), Heard testified that her role in Aquaman 2 was significantly cut down amid her battle with ex Johnny Depp.

Speaking to the court, the actor explained: “I fought really hard to stay in the movie. They didn’t want to include me in the film.”

Amber Heard

She added: “I was given a script and then given new versions of the script that had taken away scenes that had action in it. That depicted my character and another character, without giving any spoilers away, two characters fighting with one another.

“They basically took a bunch out of my role. They just removed a bunch.”

According to the entertainment executive’s testimony, Aquaman lead actor Jason Momoa was “adamant” that Heard keep her role in the film.

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On Wednesday (25 May), Depp returned to the stand, where he denied claims that he tried to get Heard fired from the original Aquaman film in 2016.

Aquaman 2, which is expected to reach cinemas in 2023, is the most high-profile project in Heard’s current slate of acting work.

Outside of this, Heard is in the post-production stages of an Italian thriller titled In the Fire, written and directed by Conor Allyn.

Next, according to film site IMDB, she is expected to appear in Run Away with Me, which focuses on an American in Paris who falls for a model before they both become intertwined in the criminal underworld of the European modelling industry.

The dispute between Heard and Depp has provoked reactions from a number of high profile figures. Here’s a rundown of the celebrities who have voiced their support for Heard, while here’s a list of the celebrities who have thrown support behind Depp.

You can read The Independent’s liveblog of the Depp v Heard trial as it happens.

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