What's on Your Mind: A New Journey

These waters are getting choppy.

On the same day in mid-September that Warner Bros. dropped the trailer for its $215 million “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” embarrassing documents from the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard defamation trial surfaced on Reddit, creating a new headache for the studio behind the film.

Depp fans paid the court fees for the release of documents from Heard’s therapist, Dr. Dawn Hughes. The raw notes, scribbled on a legal pad, were part of last year’s high-profile trial in which Depp largely prevailed. They describe a hostile “Aquaman” set where an allegedly intoxicated Jason Momoa dressed like Depp and pushed to have Heard booted from the role of aquatic superhero Mera.

A rep for Momoa declined comment, but a DC spokesperson pushed back on Heard’s characterization, saying, “Jason Momoa conducted himself in a professional manner at all times on the set of ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.’” Others echoed that sentiment. “Jason works his ass off, likes to have a beer once in a while like everyone, but doesn’t show up drunk to set,” says an insider who was on the London set in 2021, adding that the two stars got along and were seen joking together. “And he isn’t dressing like Johnny Depp. He has always dressed in that bohemian style.”

Momoa wasn’t the only “Aquaman” principal to land in the crosshairs. The therapy session also painted a picture of Heard feeling unsupported by the film’s director, James Wan, and treated like a pariah because of her high-profile legal battle with her ex-husband.

“He raised his voice @ me — ‘I can’t even post about Aquaman’ — made it like it was my fault – I said ‘I’m sorry,’” say Hughes’ notes in reference to Wan. “Nobody could take selfies with me on set given blackout.”

And yet Heard was nearly fired, sources on both sides tell Variety. Following “Aquaman’s” release in 2018, the studio and Wan decided to drop the actress from the sequel due to her lack of chemistry with Momoa and sent a letter to her attorney, Karl Austen, informing him of its decision. (Former DC Films boss Walter Hamada testified in the defamation trial about the “issue of chemistry.”) Those sources underscore that the move to bounce Heard was unrelated to Depp and took place before he filed suit against the actress in 2019. Likewise, Momoa was not involved in the decision-making. But another source pushed back on the lack-of-chemistry narrative, noting that Heard did a chemistry test with Momoa before landing the role of Mera and beat out two other actresses who did a similar chemistry test, including Abbey Lee.

Ultimately, the studio never pulled the trigger on firing Heard because her former boyfriend, Elon Musk, had one of his litigators send a “scorched-earth letter to Warner Bros. threatening to burn the house down” if the actress wasn’t brought back for a sequel, says a source familiar with the behind-the-scenes battle. Warner Bros. caved and moved forward with Heard. (Musk did not respond to a request for comment.)

Still, the “Aquaman” sequel held promise considering that the character’s first outing earned $1.15 billion worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing DC movie ever. But sources say the sequel has endured challenges outside of the Heard saga and was testing in the 60s before being recut in the summer of 2022. Despite the overhaul, the film continued to test in the 60s, prompting a new cut. “The movie is like this echo of regimes,” says one insider. “It’s the last remnant of the Snyderverse, and no one really wants to take ownership of it.” Reshoots took place right up until this year’s WGA strike in May. The on-set source disputes the idea that “Aquaman 2” is troubled, noting that the film was on time, under budget and needed only about a week of reshoots.

For now, neither Momoa nor Heard will be promoting the film given the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike. But if the strike ends soon, now that the WGA has come to terms, the stars will be junketing, making it difficult for Warner Bros. and Wan to avoid Heard’s accusations that her role was significantly cut. At least two Heard scenes were cut from “Aquaman 2” — an action sequence that found Mera fighting Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and a love scene with Momoa — according to individuals familiar with the production. Other evidence of friction is hiding in plain sight. This summer, Momoa unfollowed Heard on Instagram. One source says he even blocked Heard from following him.