It seems the queen of Atlantis will be sitting on the sidelines during Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom. The film’s director defends his choice to minimize Amber Heard’s Mera in the sequel, claiming it was always his plan.
Amber Heard has been embroiled in controversy the past few years following a lengthy court battle with her ex Johnny Depp. This left many to speculate how Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom would handle her involvement as Mera. With the first trailers now out, it seems as though the actress will be taking a back seat in the film.
This left many people, including Amber Heard herself, to speculate that she was specifically minimized as Mera due to her controversies. However, according to Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom director James Wan, this was always his plan for the DC Universe sequel ever since the first film was pitched:
“It’s fair that [Heard] said that [about the character being pared down], because she wasn’t in my head as I was working on this movie,” Wan tells Empire Magazine. “Actors don’t necessarily know what we [directors] behind the scenes are thinking about. But this was always my plan.”
“From the start, I pitched that the first film would be a ‘Romancing The Stone’-type thing – an action-adventure romantic comedy – while the second would be an outright buddy comedy. I wanted to do ‘Tango & Cash!'”
It certainly makes sense that director James Wan would want to focus on a different type of relationship in Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom given the breadth of the character’s supporting cast. It just seems as though the director was making the right choice at the wrong time when it came to Amber Heard’s Mera.
The future of the DC Universe
James Gunn and Peter Safran told journalists that their vision for the DC Universe includes locked scripts, wiggle room, and a unified storyline across film, television, animation, and video game projects. The two explained that the DC Universe could bring back elements from previous DC regimes, meaning that their eight-to-year plan is not a full reboot.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Flash, and Blue Beetle have all been released following the announcement of the new DC Universe, with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom still slated to hit theaters in 2023. Will the characters from those movies make appearances in the new DCU? Only Gunn and Safran know.
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