Amber Heard Appears On 'Aquaman 2' Trailer Despite Doubts

Controversy-plagued Amber Heard has been confirmed for an "Aquaman 2" appearance.

The actress was briefly spotted in the first trailer released by Warner Bros. for the upcoming "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom," despite outcries for her to be omitted from the franchise. The calls for her role as Mera to be canceled came during her unpleasant defamation lawsuit with her ex-husband, Johnny Depp.

Even though Heard herself refuted being removed from the action fantasy film starring Jason Momoa, many fans assumed she was lying to save herself from possible criticism. Thus, it came as a rude awakening when the first trailer for the highly-anticipated project was shown at CinemaCon, and the "Pineapple Express" star was sighted in it.

The trailer showed the blonde-haired celebrity's character in two brief scenes, including one where Mera was seen "doing battle underwater" without dialogue. The Independent reported that the mother-of-one "does have a cameo" in the film extract "but in a battle scene."

As it turned out, Heard nearly missed out on retaining her part in the project, and she blamed it on her defamation suit with Depp. She told the court that her appearances were significantly reduced following her ex's legal team calling her abuse allegations a "hoax." 

That claim was quickly refuted by Walter Hamada — DC film head — who testified in court about the "Hidden Palms" actress' limited screen time. Establishing that the reason for her reduced onscreen appearance was due to a lack of chemistry between Heard and Momoa, Hamada stated:

"The size of the role in the film that she has was determined in the early development of the script."

ICYMI, the social activist, and her ex had spent months debating their sides in front of a jury as to whether the former's 2018 Washington Post op-ed piece dubbed, "I spoke up against sexual violence - and faced our culture's wrath. That has to change" was defamatory or not. 

The jury eventually determined last year that the op-ed was defamatory, and Heard was ordered to pay her ex-beau $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. The penal sum was later reduced to $350,000 to adhere to a statutory cap limit.

Although Heard and her legal team filed docs to appeal the court's judgment in late November 2022, it soon seemed that the Young Hollywood Awards winner had had a rethink.

Per The Blast, the 37-year-old beauty took to Instagram on Monday, December 19, to inform the world that she was closing the book on the defamation case by settling. The statement, which the Scream Awards recipient shared in four slides, began:

"After a great deal of deliberation I have made a very difficult decision to settle the defamation case brought against me by my ex-husband in Virginia. It's important for me to say that I never chose this. I defended my truth and in doing so my life as I knew it was destroyed."

She explained that the "vilification" she faced on social media during the trial was an "amplified version" of how "women are re-victimized" when they come forward with their stories.

The "Friday Night Lights" actress added that she had not admitted any wrongdoing and that her statement was "not an act of concession." After highlighting that she had lost faith in the United States justice system, Heard wrote:

"In the interim I was exposed to a type of humiliation that I simply cannot re-live. Even if my US appeal is successful, the best outcome would be a re-trial where a new jury would have to consider the evidence again. I simply cannot go through that for a third time."

Ultimately, the "I Wasn't Prepared" video vixen was focused on telling her truth, and no amount of being "threatened, disheartened or dissuaded by what happened" would stop her from doing that. In her words:

"No one can and no one will take that from me. My voice forever remains the most valuable asset I have."

Heard noted her statement with an appreciation for her "outstanding appellate and original trial teams for their relentless hard work."