Amber Heard says she lost job opportunities after her split with Johnny Depp, and that her role as Mera in the upcoming Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was significantly diminished after Depp's alleged "smear campaign".

As reported by EW, the actress said she almost lost her role in the DCEU's Justice League during her third day of testimony in the ongoing defamation trial between Depp and Heard

"I had to fight really hard to keep my career after I got my [restraining order against Depp]," Heard testified. "I lost opportunities. I got dropped from jobs and campaigns. I fought to keep my job and the biggest movie opportunity I had to date [with] Justice League with the option to [star in] Aquaman. I had to fight really hard to stay in Justice League because that was the time of the divorce."

Heard said her contract with DC and Warner Bros. is a three-film option, which will end up including Justice League, Aquaman, and Aquaman 2. Heard also described how her role was pared down in Aquaman 2.

"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 spoiler aways, two characters fighting with one another, and they basically took a bunch out of my role," Heard testified. "They just removed a bunch out."

Heard plays the character Mera, a princess from the underwater kingdom of Xebel, and Aquaman's future wife and Queen in the comics. Heard has played Mera in the first Aquaman movie as well as in Justice League, and will reprise her role for the Aquaman sequel,

After a delay pushed the sequel out of its December 2022 release window, Aquaman 2 is now set to hit theaters on March 17, 2023.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

David Cronenberg, the horror director known for chilling films like Scanners and Videodrome, thinks streaming services like Netflix are too conservative for his works.

Speaking to Variety, Cronenberg said that his team did discuss his upcoming film — Crimes of the Future — with Netflix, but the streaming giant was ultimately not interested in the movie. The director said despite his interest to work with a streaming platform, Netflix isn't willing to pursue something that far out there.

"I think that [Netflix is] still very conservative," Cronenberg said. "I mean, I think they’re still like a Hollywood studio. I thought maybe they would be different. The difference is that Netflix can show very interesting streaming series from Korea, from Finland, and they say it’s a Netflix original, but it isn’t really — it’s something they have acquired. But I think when it comes to their actual production that they do themselves, they’re very conservative. I think they think in mainstream terms, that’s my experience with them anyway."

Based on Cronenberg's past works and what we've seen so far of Crimes of the Future, it's safe to say the film is definitely way out there. Crimes of the Future is about a human society where transformation and mutation surgeries are the norm. It tells the story of a performance artist who shows off the metamorphosis of his own organs.

The movie stars Viggo Mortensen, Léa Seydoux, and Kristen Stewart.

Cronenberg is definitely aware that his art is not for everyone. The director previously said he's "sure that we will have walkouts within the first five minutes of the movie."

Crimes of the Future is set to hit theaters next month. As for what's next for Cronenberg after Crimes of the Future, we already know a decent amount about The Shrouds, his next movie set to start filming in 2023.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

David Cronenberg, the horror director known for chilling films like Scanners and Videodrome, thinks streaming services like Netflix are too conservative for his works.

Speaking to Variety, Cronenberg said that his team did discuss his upcoming film — Crimes of the Future — with Netflix, but the streaming giant was ultimately not interested in the movie. The director said despite his interest to work with a streaming platform, Netflix isn't willing to pursue something that far out there.

"I think that [Netflix is] still very conservative," Cronenberg said. "I mean, I think they’re still like a Hollywood studio. I thought maybe they would be different. The difference is that Netflix can show very interesting streaming series from Korea, from Finland, and they say it’s a Netflix original, but it isn’t really — it’s something they have acquired. But I think when it comes to their actual production that they do themselves, they’re very conservative. I think they think in mainstream terms, that’s my experience with them anyway."

Based on Cronenberg's past works and what we've seen so far of Crimes of the Future, it's safe to say the film is definitely way out there. Crimes of the Future is about a human society where transformation and mutation surgeries are the norm. It tells the story of a performance artist who shows off the metamorphosis of his own organs.

The movie stars Viggo Mortensen, Léa Seydoux, and Kristen Stewart.

Cronenberg is definitely aware that his art is not for everyone. The director previously said he's "sure that we will have walkouts within the first five minutes of the movie."

Crimes of the Future is set to hit theaters next month. As for what's next for Cronenberg after Crimes of the Future, we already know a decent amount about The Shrouds, his next movie set to start filming in 2023.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Even though Johnny Depp has said he will never return to the Pirates of the Carribean franchise, longtime Pirates producer Jerry Bruckheimer says that's not set in stone.

Speaking to The Times, Bruckheimer was asked if Depp was attached to either of the two upcoming Pirates projects. Bruckheimer said, "Not at this point. The future is yet to be decided."

Depp has been the face of the Pirates franchise since its inception, starring as Captain Jack Sparrow in all five Pirates films to this point.

The two Pirates movies we've heard rumblings on are a new female-led Pirates movie starring Margot Robbie, and a franchise reboot with the creator of Chernobyl first reported on in 2019. According to Bruckheimer, that still seems to be the plan.

"We're talking to Margot Robbie," Bruckheimer said. "We are developing two 'Pirates' scripts — one with her, one without."

Depp himself has said he will not work with Disney on the Pirates series again. During Depp's ongoing defamation trial against Amber Heard, Depp said Disney dropped him from the next Pirates of the Carribean days after Heard published an op-ed about their relationship. When being cross-examined, Depp implied that there is nothing Disney could offer to get him to return.

Cross-examiner Ben Rottenborn said: “The fact is, Mr. Depp, if Disney came to you with $300 million and a million alpacas, nothing on this earth would get you to go back and work with Disney on a Pirates of the Caribbean film? Correct?”

“That is true,” replied Depp.

The last Pirates movie was 2017's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. We called the movie "okay", saying it "manages to be less bloated, dreary, and meandering than the last three entries have been, but it still suffers from many of the same wearisome, dredged-up villains and ho-hum action and comedy that have bedeviled the franchise since its second installment."

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Even though Johnny Depp has said he will never return to the Pirates of the Carribean franchise, longtime Pirates producer Jerry Bruckheimer says that's not set in stone.

Speaking to The Times, Bruckheimer was asked if Depp was attached to either of the two upcoming Pirates projects. Bruckheimer said, "Not at this point. The future is yet to be decided."

Depp has been the face of the Pirates franchise since its inception, starring as Captain Jack Sparrow in all five Pirates films to this point.

The two Pirates movies we've heard rumblings on are a new female-led Pirates movie starring Margot Robbie, and a franchise reboot with the creator of Chernobyl first reported on in 2019. According to Bruckheimer, that still seems to be the plan.

"We're talking to Margot Robbie," Bruckheimer said. "We are developing two 'Pirates' scripts — one with her, one without."

Depp himself has said he will not work with Disney on the Pirates series again. During Depp's ongoing defamation trial against Amber Heard, Depp said Disney dropped him from the next Pirates of the Carribean days after Heard published an op-ed about their relationship. When being cross-examined, Depp implied that there is nothing Disney could offer to get him to return.

Cross-examiner Ben Rottenborn said: “The fact is, Mr. Depp, if Disney came to you with $300 million and a million alpacas, nothing on this earth would get you to go back and work with Disney on a Pirates of the Caribbean film? Correct?”

“That is true,” replied Depp.

The last Pirates movie was 2017's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. We called the movie "okay", saying it "manages to be less bloated, dreary, and meandering than the last three entries have been, but it still suffers from many of the same wearisome, dredged-up villains and ho-hum action and comedy that have bedeviled the franchise since its second installment."

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Like most other large gaming companies, Take-Two has been a part of a recent flurry of acquisition activity industry-wide. Its planned acquisition of Zynga is set to close by the end of the month, and its Private Division label snapped up Roll7 late last year. But what about Take-Two itself? Is it possible that it, like fellow major publisher Activision-Blizzard, might be acquired by a bigger gaming corporation?

For now, that seems unlikely, based on comments made by CEO Strauss Zelnick in an interview ahead of today's full year and quarterly earnings call.

"We're a public company, and we're here for the shareholders," he told IGN. "That said, our track record of creating value as an independent entireprise is pretty terrific, especially if you exclude the last three months. We think there's plenty of great times ahead, and we like being an independent organization. But we're here for the shareholders."

Zelnick also offered some context for the publisher's recent acquisitions of Zynga and Roll7. He acknowledged the reality of industry consolidation, especially over the last six months. But he added that the increase in overall indistry acquisitions wasn't going to change anything for Take-Two, whose growth he says has "always been largely organic" but "populated with some selective acquisitions along the way."

"We're looking for creative deals that bring us great intellectual property and great teams, and we'll continue to do that in the future," he said. "Undoubtedly the Zynga transaction is exceedingly significant for this company and we have a lot of work to do collectively to make sure we deliver on the value, and the focus will be largely organic growing forward. But that will not prevent us from continuing to make acquisitions that are selective and disciplined for Private Division and the rest of the business, including the mobile part of the business."

Zelnick also spoke to us on a few other topics, including the likelihood of Take-Two picking up the FIFA license after EA and FIFA parted ways, and the currrent fan frustration with the state of Red Dead Online.

Looking ahead, Take-Two is planning 18 new releases in the coming fiscal year, including core titles The Quarry, Marvel’s Midnight Suns, NBA 2K23, WWE 2K23, PGA Tour 2K23, and Kerbal Space Program 2. There are also eight mobile games coming, a new sports title from 2K (likely its NFL arcade game), a new franchise from Private Division, Tales from the Borderlands 2, and "one new iteration of a previously-released title available for purchase".

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Like most other large gaming companies, Take-Two has been a part of a recent flurry of acquisition activity industry-wide. Its planned acquisition of Zynga is set to close by the end of the month, and its Private Division label snapped up Roll7 late last year. But what about Take-Two itself? Is it possible that it, like fellow major publisher Activision-Blizzard, might be acquired by a bigger gaming corporation?

For now, that seems unlikely, based on comments made by CEO Strauss Zelnick in an interview ahead of today's full year and quarterly earnings call.

"We're a public company, and we're here for the shareholders," he told IGN. "That said, our track record of creating value as an independent entireprise is pretty terrific, especially if you exclude the last three months. We think there's plenty of great times ahead, and we like being an independent organization. But we're here for the shareholders."

Zelnick also offered some context for the publisher's recent acquisitions of Zynga and Roll7. He acknowledged the reality of industry consolidation, especially over the last six months. But he added that the increase in overall indistry acquisitions wasn't going to change anything for Take-Two, whose growth he says has "always been largely organic" but "populated with some selective acquisitions along the way."

"We're looking for creative deals that bring us great intellectual property and great teams, and we'll continue to do that in the future," he said. "Undoubtedly the Zynga transaction is exceedingly significant for this company and we have a lot of work to do collectively to make sure we deliver on the value, and the focus will be largely organic growing forward. But that will not prevent us from continuing to make acquisitions that are selective and disciplined for Private Division and the rest of the business, including the mobile part of the business."

Zelnick also spoke to us on a few other topics, including the likelihood of Take-Two picking up the FIFA license after EA and FIFA parted ways, and the currrent fan frustration with the state of Red Dead Online.

Looking ahead, Take-Two is planning 18 new releases in the coming fiscal year, including core titles The Quarry, Marvel’s Midnight Suns, NBA 2K23, WWE 2K23, PGA Tour 2K23, and Kerbal Space Program 2. There are also eight mobile games coming, a new sports title from 2K (likely its NFL arcade game), a new franchise from Private Division, Tales from the Borderlands 2, and "one new iteration of a previously-released title available for purchase".

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

With EA and the FIFA brand set to part ways, one big question on everyone's minds is: who will pick up the FIFA license to keep making more soccer games? One possibility is Take-Two Interactive, but for now, the company isn't saying whether or not it's in to be the official soccer publisher.

Speaking to CEO Strauss Zelnick ahead of today's earnings call, IGN asked if Take-Two was considering working with FIFA in the future to expand its existing sports line-up.

"We're definitely interested in expanding our opportunities in sports, and FIFA has a great brand and incredible clout, but we have no current plans to discuss," Zelnick replied.

It's understandable that Zelnick wouldn't be able to say much for now, as if there is any discussion about a deal right now, it's likely going on behind closed doors. But Zelnick's praise for the brand isn't the only reason to think Take-Two might be interested. The publisher is one of the few who could conceivably afford the reportedly very expensive license, and already has a track record of sports titles with NBA 2K, WWE 2K, plus whatever it's working on with the NFL.

EA and FIFA announced their split earlier this month, with EA citing a desire for more creative freedom as well as the expensive license among the reasons it opted to go its own way with EA Sports FC in the future. FIFA has confirmed it will continue to release games under the FIFA name, but has not yet said who it will partner with to make this happen.

Even if Take-Two goes after the FIFA license, we won't see it manifest for a while, given that EA still has FIFA 23 ahead. Take-Two has a busy year ahead anyway, with 18 planned releases. According to the Take-Two earnings report, six of those are “immersive core titles”: The Quarry, Marvel’s Midnight Suns, NBA 2K23, WWE 2K23, PGA Tour 2K23, and Kerbal Space Program 2 (which has been confirmed for release in early 2023 as of this morning, after previously being pushed to sometime between April 2022 and March 2023).

There are also eight mobile games in the works, a new sports title from 2K (likely its NFL arcade game), a new franchise from Private Division, Tales from the Borderlands 2, and "one new iteration of a previously-released title available for purchase".

The publisher also gave a few updates on sales of existing games, including NBA 2K22 having sold over 10 million copies, GTA V selling over 165 million, and Red Dead Redemption 2 selling over 44 million. Oddly, there were no sales figures provided for WWE 2K22, but its sales for the first four weeks after release exceeded both WWE 2K19 and WWE 2K20 during the same period.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

With EA and the FIFA brand set to part ways, one big question on everyone's minds is: who will pick up the FIFA license to keep making more soccer games? One possibility is Take-Two Interactive, but for now, the company isn't saying whether or not it's in to be the official soccer publisher.

Speaking to CEO Strauss Zelnick ahead of today's earnings call, IGN asked if Take-Two was considering working with FIFA in the future to expand its existing sports line-up.

"We're definitely interested in expanding our opportunities in sports, and FIFA has a great brand and incredible clout, but we have no current plans to discuss," Zelnick replied.

It's understandable that Zelnick wouldn't be able to say much for now, as if there is any discussion about a deal right now, it's likely going on behind closed doors. But Zelnick's praise for the brand isn't the only reason to think Take-Two might be interested. The publisher is one of the few who could conceivably afford the reportedly very expensive license, and already has a track record of sports titles with NBA 2K, WWE 2K, plus whatever it's working on with the NFL.

EA and FIFA announced their split earlier this month, with EA citing a desire for more creative freedom as well as the expensive license among the reasons it opted to go its own way with EA Sports FC in the future. FIFA has confirmed it will continue to release games under the FIFA name, but has not yet said who it will partner with to make this happen.

Even if Take-Two goes after the FIFA license, we won't see it manifest for a while, given that EA still has FIFA 23 ahead. Take-Two has a busy year ahead anyway, with 18 planned releases. According to the Take-Two earnings report, six of those are “immersive core titles”: The Quarry, Marvel’s Midnight Suns, NBA 2K23, WWE 2K23, PGA Tour 2K23, and Kerbal Space Program 2 (which has been confirmed for release in early 2023 as of this morning, after previously being pushed to sometime between April 2022 and March 2023).

There are also eight mobile games in the works, a new sports title from 2K (likely its NFL arcade game), a new franchise from Private Division, Tales from the Borderlands 2, and "one new iteration of a previously-released title available for purchase".

The publisher also gave a few updates on sales of existing games, including NBA 2K22 having sold over 10 million copies, GTA V selling over 165 million, and Red Dead Redemption 2 selling over 44 million. Oddly, there were no sales figures provided for WWE 2K22, but its sales for the first four weeks after release exceeded both WWE 2K19 and WWE 2K20 during the same period.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

For months now, the Red Dead Online community has been begging developer Rockstar for more significant updates to the game on par with what Grand Theft Auto Online has been getting, using the hashtag #SaveRedDeadOnline. Thus far they've received little in the way of acknowledgement for their movement, until today.

Speaking to IGN ahead of Take-Two's quarterly earnings call, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick affirmed he was aware of the community's frustration, but added that fans would need to look to Rockstar for a response.

"Rockstar Games talks about the updates that are coming, and we're working on an awful lot at Rockstar Games," he said. "I've heard the frustration, it's flattering that they want more content, and more will be said by Rockstar in due time."

When asked if Take-Two intended to continue to support Red Dead Online long-term, Zelnick affirmed that this was the plan. [Update 2:45pm PT: Post-publication, Take-Two Interactive reached out to clarify that this comment was "solely referring to the online servers" and that any future content updates would be up to Rockstar.]

#SaveRedDeadOnline has been continued across social channels like Twitter and Reddit since January of this year, when Rockstar published an announcement of new content for Red Dead Online that the community felt was largely insufficient compared to much larger updates being pushed in Grand Theft Auto Online. Since then, there have been a handful of other similarly small updates, but nothing large enough to quell the frustrated fans who feel that Rockstar has abandoned their beloved game to focus on a much older one that has already received years of major updates and attention.

As of the latest earnings call, Red Dead Redemption 2 has sold over 44 million units worldwide, which Take-Two said in its report is "notably above our expectations for the period, which is further proof of the ongoing popularity of Rockstar’s blockbuster entertainment experiences."

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.