According to Walter Hamada, President of DC Films at Warner Bros., Heard’s part in the sequel to “Aquaman” was decreased due to a lack of on-screen chemistry with her co-star Jason Momoa.

Hamada gave a video deposition at Depp and Heard’s ongoing defamation trial on Tuesday, May 24. Depp’s team called him as a witness in part to refute some of Heard’s own testimony from last week. Heard testified at the time that she struggled to keep her job and had to fight to keep her role as Mera — Mamoa’s Aquaman’s love interest — for the Aquaman sequel amidst a barrage of negative press following her divorce from Depp, the temporary restraining order she obtained against him, and the allegations of abuse Depp leveled against her.

Hamada testified in his deposition that Heard had an option contract with Warner Bros. to play Mera in the Aquaman franchise.

According to Hamada, Heard’s position in the upcoming sequel was never diminished; rather, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was always intended to center on the titular character and his friend, with Heard’s character serving as a supporting character.

However, officials were supposedly concerned about the actress’s connection with Jason Momoa.

“They didn’t really have a lot of chemistry together,” Hamada stated.

He stated that neither Depp nor the actor’s attorney, Adam Waldman, had an impact on the creative discussions. (Heard is suing Depp for calling her abuse claims a fabrication in an interview with the Daily Mail.)

“I think editorially they were able to make [Momoa and Heard’s] relationship work in the first movie, but there was a concern it took a lot of effort to get there and would we be better off recasting,” Hamada said, adding that they could find “someone who had better, more natural chemistry with Jason Momoa and move forward that way.”

Other actresses were not auditioned by the studio in the end. When asked if he discussed chemistry concerns with Momoa, Hamada answered “yes,” adding that he spoke with the actor before Aquaman 2 was given the “green light.”

Hamada testified that the picture considered recasting Heard in order to find someone with better on-screen chemistry with Momoa.

“The reality is, it’s not uncommon on movies for two leads to not have chemistry,” Hamada said, adding that “movie magic” and “editorial” — such as film score and editing decisions — are frequently required to “put performances together.”

Hamada continued: “You can fabricate, sort of, that chemistry. So I think at the end of the day, I think if you watch the movie, they look like they have great chemistry. But I just know that through the course of the post-production, it took a lot of effort to get there.” (Hamada didn’t imply that there were any specific issues between Heard and Mamoa, suggesting chemistry was more ineffable: “It’s like, what makes a movie star a movie star? You know it when you see it.”)

Despite the chemistry concerns, Hamada observed that Heard’s performance in Aquaman was well-received in early test screenings. He was also asked if there were any problems with Heard during the sequel’s development, to which he said, “My understanding is actually the production went very smoothly.”

The testimony of Hamada comes only one day after Heard’s agency testified that Momoa was “adamant” about her reprising her part in the upcoming sequel.

Heard’s agent, Jessica Kovacevic, testified this week, claiming that everyone was initially quite pleased with Heard’s performance and that she tested incredibly well for the picture. When she learned that Heard’s role would be cut due to chemistry, the only obvious conclusion was that the problem was the continuous tweeting and negative attention surrounding the defamation case. Her representative also said that Heard had been passed over for a part in an Amazon project that was in the works.

Depp is suing Heard for $50 million (£39.7 million) for allegedly hinting in a 2018 op-ed for The Washington Post that he assaulted her, and for allegedly preventing him from securing major Hollywood roles.