AQUAMAN 2 director addresses rumors of multiple reshoots, Amber Heard’s claims she was kicked out

Director James Wanthe sequel Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is headed our way, and the movie not only had rumors and obstacles, but it also had a star with a very public trial. Wan has addressed all issues head on and is now speaking out about what’s real and what’s not, setting the record straight.

In a recent interview with Variety, Wan addressed the first allegation that post-production included three rounds of reshoots while the film was in the midst of an executive review at DC Studios, which is now run by James Gunn and Peter Safran . The two co-CEOs are spearheading a new DC universe outside of what “Aquaman 2” was conceived for.

Wan explained:

“The difficult thing in the beginning was not knowing if ‘Aquaman’ would come out sooner or later [‘The Flash’]. So, we just had to be prepared. Ultimately, the best thing I would say about this film is that it is not connected in any way to any of those films. That’s the bottom line.”

Reports stated that Batman actors such as Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton would be involved in the filming of “Aquaman 2”, but would also appear in “The Flash”. Does this mean Wan hasn’t needed to use Batman after all since “The Flash”? Wan responded: “That’s a ‘no comment’ at this time. You’ll have to wait for the movie to come out.”

Second Entertainment weekly, Wan did not dispute the claim that Gunn “has had a hand” on the “Aquaman” sequel now that he is head of DC Studios, but Wan added: “I’ve known James for a long time, right? We’re horror guys so I’m definitely open to ideas. But, in the end, this is my film.”

Wan also insisted that filming “Aquaman 2” was no different than filming any other major Hollywood film.

“We have great actors in this film and everyone’s schedule is really busy. So, we had to break our shooting schedule into sections. We’re going to shoot a little bit here now, because this actor is available, and then we’ll do another shot now, because this guy is available. People are like, ‘Oh, they’re doing a lot of different takes!’ No. If we combined them all together, it wouldn’t actually be that many days.

Wan was also asked Amber heard, who plays Mera in the comic book film series. During the 2022 defamation trial involving Johnny Depp, Heard claimed in court that Warner Bros. “did not want to include me” in the “Aquaman” sequel due to the fallout from her divorce from Depp. She said her role in the sequel was “reduced” and the action scenes were “removed.”

According to Wan, however, the sequel was never intended to focus on Mera and Aquaman like the first film did in 2018. He said that “Aquaman 2” always prioritized Aquaman’s relationship with his evil half-brother, Orm (Patrick Wilson), compared to the one with Mera.

“I have always proposed it to everyone from the beginning. The first “Aquaman” was the journey of Arthur and Mera. The second movie was always going to be Arthur and Orm. So, the first one was a romance action-adventure movie, the second one is a bromance action-adventure movie. We’ll leave things at that.

As for a potential third “Aquaman” film, Wan confirmed that “we have some things in place in the second film that you can definitely draw on in a third.” However, Wan stressed that he has no plans or story for “Aquaman 3” at this time. Would you direct? “I don’t know,” he said. “This movie has taken up so much of my life, so much of my time, all I can think about now is taking a long break.”

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will be released in theaters on December 20th.