Amber Heard said she 'fought really hard' to appear in 'Aquaman 2' and was ultimately given a pared down role

• Amber Heard said she had to fight to stay in Warner Bros.' upcoming "Aquaman" sequel.

• Heard made the comments Monday during the ongoing defamation trial with ex-husband Johnny Depp.
• The actress said she now has a pared down role after some action scenes were removed.

Amber Heard said she has a heavily reduced role in the "Aquaman" sequel after fighting to stay in the upcoming Warner Bros. sequel.

"I fought really hard to stay in the movie. They didn't want to include me in the film," Heard said Monday while on the stand during her ongoing defamation trial with ex-husband Johnny Depp. 

Heard was first introduced as Mera, Aquaman's love interest, in 2017's "Justice League" before becoming a protagonist in 2018's "Aquaman" alongside costar Jason Momoa. 

The film shattered box-office expectations by grossing over $1.1 billion. It's one of Warner Bros.' most successful DC films.

When asked if she was able to film her role for the upcoming sequel, "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom," Heard said she performed "a very pared-down version of that role."

"I was given a script and then given new versions of the script that had taken away scenes that had action in it that depicted my character and another character — without giving any spoilers away — two characters fighting with one another. They basically took a bunch out of my role. They just removed a bunch out," Heard added of the changes that were made to her role in the sequel.

A representative for Warner Bros. did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Entertainment journalist Grace Randolph recently reported that Heard's role was reduced to 10 minutes.

A long-running Change.org petition to remove Heard from the "Aquaman" sequel has reached over 4.1 million signatures during the ongoing trial. In July 2021, producer Peter Safran told Deadline "fan pressure" wouldn't impact a decision on whether or not to fire Heard.

During the trial, Heard said her pay for the first "Aquaman" was $1 million while the sequel was $2 million under her contract. That does not include any additional box-office bonuses the actress may receive if the film makes a certain amount of money theatrically, she added on the stand.

On Monday, Heard said she has since worked on one independent film, "Into the Fire," for which she was paid $65,000.

Warner Bros. recently pushed back the "Aquaman" sequel from December 2022 to March 17, 2023.