Aquaman star Dolph Lundgren ‘disappointed’ with movie’s sequel

Aquaman sequel star Dolph Lundgren has revealed his disappointment at his scenes being cut in a bid “to limit Amber Heard.”

Dolph Lundgren plays the father of Amber Heard's character, Mera, in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.

Dolph Lundgren has revealed he was “disappointed” by the highly-anticipated Aquaman sequel, which hit cinemas to a lacklustre reception in December.

The Rocky actor, who stars in the Warner Bros movie, claimed a large chunk of his scenes were cut “to limit Amber Heard” in a new interview with ComicBook.com.

Lundgren, 66, plays King Nereus, the father of Heard’s character Princess Mera, in the Jason Momoa-led franchise.

“I just realised that it was some kind of corporate decision that they try to limit Amber Heard, and then I’m playing her dad and went along with it,” Lundgren told the website.

Dolph Lundgren stars as King Nereus in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.

He continued: “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.

“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.”

Amber Heard with co-star Dolph Lundgren, pictured in 2017 on the Gold Coast during filming of the original Aquaman. Picture: Instagram

Box office earnings indeed suggest fans weren’t as invested in the sequel, which has made $US375.1million at the global box office to date.

That’s a far cry from the $US1.152 billion the original film made when it debuted in 2018.

Jason Momoa plays Aquaman.

Amber Heard returned to the franchise as Mera.

Heard, 37, previously confirmed her role in the DC Comics flick had been drastically reduced as a result of public backlash over her messy divorce from Johnny Depp.

The US actress was cross-examined in a Virginia court in May 2022 as part of Depp’s defamation trial against her, in which she said her lead part as Mera became a “very pared-down version” from what it was supposed to be.

Heard testified she fought hard to be in the sequel, alleging that Warner Bros “didn’t want to include me.”

Heard testified in 2022 Warner Bros. did not want her to return to the Aquaman franchise. Picture: Evelyn Hockstein/POOL/AFP

“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, and they basically took a bunch out of my role,” Heard said at the time.

“They just removed a bunch out.”

She was, however, paid well for her involvement, with the actress testifying she made $US2 million, which was double the amount she received for the first film.