Zack Snyder is a fan of Amber Heard.
The director, 57, collaborated with Heard on his Justice League film, in which she played her Mera comic-book character, which she reprises again in the upcoming Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, directed by James Wan.
During a wide-ranging interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Snyder said he doesn’t understand the online backlash Heard, 37, gets in the wake of her court battles with her ex-husband Johnny Depp.
“I just don’t get it. If other people don’t like her, I don’t know what to say. I would work with her in a second,” said the Rebel Moon director.
In the DC cinematic space, Snyder made films like Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League. He told THR he keeps in touch with several of the cast members, including Ezra Miller, who underwent mental health struggles and public scandals in recent years.
Snyder said Miller, 31, “did a great job in that Flash movie. It’s very difficult to play against yourself.”
During her defamation trial with Depp, 60, in Virginia last year, Heard testified that her career “took a hit” in the aftermath of her breakup with Depp, and that she had to “fight” to keep her Aquaman role in Justice League as the divorce played out in headlines.
“It was hard for me to work,” said Heard at the time. “I was harassed. I am harassed on a daily basis, death threats.” Heard also referred to being met with “vitriol from Johnny Depp supporters” after coming forward about alleged domestic violence.
The jury ultimately sided mostly with Depp in that case, though Heard won one of her three defamation counterclaims. They later reached a settlement, and Heard paid Depp $1 million in damages, which he said would be donated to charity.
https://youtu.be/4cSkHPW-MPE
Back in 2018, Heard told Entertainment Weekly about how Snyder convinced her to take the role of Mera.
“Before I decided to take on this role I read a couple of the comic books and I was struck by how Mera was introduced. She comes into this one scene in the first comic I read where Arthur is attempting to save the town from a flood and she helps him,” she said.
“She has an equal part in saving this village. And these civilians turn to each other and say, ‘Who is that? Is that Aquawoman?’ And she says something to the effect of, ‘No, I have my own name, my name is Mera.’ ”
“That resonated with me as somebody who’s always been allergic to being the damsel, the two-dimensional archetype of what women are often limited to in this industry — especially in the superhero world,” said Heard.
She added at the time, “So when I spoke to [Justice League director Zack Snyder] he got me at ‘warrior queen.’ He said, ‘You get a sword and a crown,’ and I’m like, ‘Okay, you know how to play to your audience.’ ”
Snyder’s Rebel Moon: A Child of Fire is on Netflix Dec. 22 and Rebel Moon: The Scargiver is out April 19.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is in theaters Dec. 22.
Source: people.com
