Elon Musk threatened WB save Amber Heard's Job

Elon Musk could be the reason Amber Heard reprised her role as Mera in the sequel to the 2018 hit film "Aquaman."

While the first film was a success, grossing over $1 billion worldwide, Heard's return for "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom," which is set to be released in December, has been called into question following her highly publicized defamation trial with her former husband Johnny Depp.

"I fought really hard to stay in the movie — they didn't want to include me in the film," Heard testified during the trial in May 2022.

However, according to Variety, Warner Bros. apparently began discussing whether to leave Heard out of the sequel after the film premiered in 2018, years before the defamation trial. According to Variety reporter Tatiana Siegel, the studio and director James Wan wanted to fire her due to a lack of chemistry with Jason Momoa, who plays the titular superhero, and even informed her attorney, Karl Austen, of the decision.

Ultimately, the studio did not fire Heard because Musk intervened.

"Musk had one of his litigators send Warner Bros. a'scorched-earth letter threatening to burn the house down' if the actress wasn't brought back for a sequel," a source familiar with the situation told Variety.