Everything We Know About Amber Heard's Role In Aquaman 2
While Amber Heard was previously confirmed as returning as Mera for Aquaman 2, her role in the DC sequel is currently a complicated topic. Heard debuted the Mera role on the big screen in the 2017 Joss Whedon cut of Justice League, then returned for an expanded part in the first Aquaman movie. At the time of Heard's initial casting in the DCEU, her inclusion wasn't really a topic of controversy, but in the years since, Amber Heard's public legal cases with ex-husband Johnny Depp have led to the actress gaining a large amount of detractors.
Both Amber Heard and Johnny Depp have stated they feel their careers have been affected by their legal trials - with Depp's recent defamation case against Heard serving as evidence to this. Social media campaigns have also risen to request Amber Heard be removed from any current acting roles. Naturally, as Aquaman 2 currently contains Heard's most famous role as Mera, the majority of these campaigns focus around the DCEU character being either recast or cut entirely.
While the Depp vs. Heard trial has ended, even with it in the rearview mirror it's unlikely audiences will stop wondering whether Amber Heard was cut from Aquaman 2 anytime soon. A recent delay sent Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom back to a 2023 release, meaning there are still many months left to wonder how exactly Amber Heard's Mera will fit into the sequel's story. For now, here's all the information currently available.
While Amber Heard said she wasn't sure if her work as Mera would make the final cut of Aquaman 2, DC Films boss Walter Hamada confirmed during later testimony at the Heard vs. Depp trial that the actress was still part of the sequel. Long before the trial, it was made clear that director James Wan and Aquaman 2's producers had no intention of removing Heard from the production. If there's one Mera-related thing that seems entirely certain at this juncture, it's that she will appear in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and the character will still be played by Heard.
The first Aquaman movie sure appeared to be setting the stage for Mera to have an even bigger role in Aquaman 2, as she looked poised to rule Atlantis alongside Arthur Curry as his queen. She was also shown to be just as effective a fighter as Arthur, and based on her general temperament, is arguably more suited to the role of monarch. It also seemed likely that despite their love, Mera and Arthur would be a royal couple that often disagreed on what needed to be done, which could lead to potential conflict. Mera's appearance in Zack Snyder's Justice League also had her holding the trident of a seemingly deceased Arthur in the Knightmare future, but that storyline seems unlikely to be followed up on.
While Aquaman did indeed look to set the stage for Mera to play a large part in Aquaman 2, one thing that Hamada didn't contest when on the stand was that Amber Heard's Aquaman 2 role was cut down. This essentially confirms what Heard had said previously; that script rewrites saw the size of Mera's role in the sequel's story get steadily reduced. Notably though, Hamada denied that Mera's reduced role was the result of Heard's personal life, and said that the reduction was due to concerns among the DC Films brass about Heard's chemistry with co-star Jason Momoa, or in their opinion lack thereof. Hamada also confirmed Heard's claim that Mera was almost recast with a new actress prior to filming, although he again denied that this had anything to do with Heard's real-life legal cases, and was again only about her and Momoa's chemistry issues.
While it's clear that Amber Heard's Mera will play a much smaller part in Aquaman 2's story than was originally intended, what isn't at all clear is just how small this part will be. Heard was not at liberty to reveal much about the DCEU film's content, due to contractual obligations requiring that details about the film not be revealed to the general public. She did, however, say that a planned fight scene involving Mera was eliminated. This suggests that Mera will spend Aquaman 2 mostly relegated to the sidelines of whatever main driving conflict the sequel revolves around. Little is known about Aquaman 2's plot, but Hamada has said that it will focus more on the relationship between Arthur and his half-brother Orm (Patrick Wilson), now fighting side by side. That setup could definitely leave Mera as the odd character out, as she was usually the one at Arthur's side in the first Aquaman. It's hard to imagine Mera's role being reduced to cameo level, but she may well spend most of the sequel moved to the background of the story.
Since it doesn't appear that Warner Bros. plans to end the DCEU anytime soon, it's impossible to say with complete certainty that Amber Heard's Mera will never return. That said, it's been confirmed that Aquaman 2 was the last movie that was part of Amber Heard's original DC Films contract, and that the studio had opted not to sign her to a new deal after production finished. Therefore, it seems clear that currently, Amber Heard's Mera will not appear after Aquaman 2. The big question though is whether the DCEU will opt to recast Mera, as she's an important part of Aquaman lore both on and off the big screen. If Mera is recast, however, this could create further controversy, suggesting that the DCEU may go without the character for at least the near future.
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