Dolph Lundgrenthinks something is missing from Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom: scenes that were originally scripted to involve him andAmber Heard. During a recent interview, Lundgren expressed frustration over scenes that he says were cut from the Aquaman sequel late in the day, despite rumors of Heard’s reduced role being previously denied by director James Wan.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
The follow-up to the smash hit DC adventure Aquaman, starring Jason Momoa as the King of Atlantis.
Both Lundgren and Heard reprise their roles from the original 2018 DC hit, with Lundgren playing Nereus, the father of Heard’s Mera. During a recent interview withUPI, promoting his upcoming filmWanted Man, Lundgren said that extensive reshoots changedAquaman and the Lost Kingdom’s storyline for the worse:
“My opinion is that I thought the original script was great. I was a bigger part of it and Amber Heard was a bigger part of it… The studio decided, I guess, to just reshoot a bunch of footage to try to rebuild a slightly different storyline. That’s tricky because you can’t reshoot the whole movie.”
Lundgren later added:
“When you start inserting different story elements into something [with which] there was a unity that worked, then you can get in trouble. It was a little frustrating for me. I felt a little disappointed, but life goes on.”
Along with Heard and Lundgren’s minimized scenes, there was no sight of Ben Affleck, who was originally expected to make a cameo appearance as Batman.
Related:Aquaman 2’s Amber Heard Finally Speaks Out About Her Appearance in the Film
Dolph Lundgren Blames “Corporate Decision” for Aquaman 2 Changes
In an interview withComicBook.com, Lundgren elaborated on his and Heard’s reduced screen time in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, blaming a “corporate decision:”
“I just realized that it was some kind of corporate decision that they tried to limit Amber Heard and then I’m playing with her dad and went along with it. I was just disappointed for the moviegoers, because I thought the original script was great and the original cut – I saw a little bit of it, it was really good, so I didn’t see any reason to start reshooting and reshaping the story, which obviously led to disappointment in the moviegoers and not just me.”
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, penned by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, landed in theaters in December; the film has not fared well with criticsbut has been more positively received by audiences.
Heard has been a polarizing figure due to her relationship with Johnny Depp: following their contentious split, the two underwent a very public defamation trial. The jury ruled in favor of Depp, finding that a Washington Post op-ed Heard penned, calling herself a “public figure representing domestic abuse,” defamed him. Following the televised trial, several online petitions asked that Heard be let go from theAquamansequel. Claims that Mera’s storyline was cut down due to public scrutiny against Heard were denied by Warner Bros. Pictures. Director James Wan has also shot those claims down, sayingMera was never intended to be a central characterinAquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdomis currently in theaters and stars Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Patrick Wilson as Orm, Heard (who appears in the film for less than 20 minutes), Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta, and Randall Park as Stephen Shin. Jani Zhao, Indya Moore, Vincent Regan, and Lundgren also appear.
Lundgren will next appear in the action filmWanted Man, which he directs and co-wrote alongside Michael Worth. The film is slated for a limited theatrical release and VOD on January 17.
Wanted Man
Follows a police officer who must retrieve an eyewitness and escort her after a cartel shooting leaves several DEA agents dead. Dolph Lundgren stars.
