Warner Bros. is certainly in an interesting place regarding their DC properties. After a decade, the studio seems to be putting an end to its original cinematic universe, the DCEU, and making way for a new franchise overseen by James Gunn. One of the final movies from the original regime is Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. The film is the long-awaited sequel to the surprise 2018 smash hit, which was one of the few major wins for the DCEU franchise.
Update September 18, 2023: Following the release of the trailer for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, this article has been updated with more information regarding the film and star Amber Heard.
The film has had a trouble production, and much online attention has been paid to the status of star Amber Heard, who performs the role of Mera in the DCEU. Heard is a controversial performer, not for any of her roles but from her relationship and divorce from Johnny Depp, which has generated many headlines from both supporters of hers and those who don’t care for her. After years of delays, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is finally set to hit the big screen. The first trailer hit just months before the film was set to open, with many wondering if part of the delayed promotion was the studio trying to figure out how to promote the movie with Heard.
The trailer barely showed the character of Mera at all, with just one brief shot and a few establishing shots where she can barely be seen. Many are wondering what role Mera will have in the movie and why Warner Bros. Discovery is so hesitant to show the character. Here is what to know about Amber Heard, Mera’s history with Aquaman, and the possible status of the character in the upcoming film.
The Amber Heard Situation
Amber Heard was in a very public dispute with her ex-husband, actor Johnny Depp. The divorce and accusations from Heard over Depp of domestic abuse resulted in a very public and high-profile trial where Depp sued Heard for defamation in a claim of $50 million in damages, and Heard counter-sued Depp for $100 million in damages.
The case became a big source of media attention, and the live stream of the trial became a huge talking point among people on various social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok. Fans of both stars began showing their support. In the end, the jury sided with Depp while also still ruling that Depp’s lawyer had defamed Heard. Since the trial, Heard had attempted to get a retrial, citing that jurors were not sequestered and were influenced by social media reports of the trial, but a judge denied the request.
While many in the public were quick to attack Heard, there were also many who came to her defense. Finally, in late 2022, Amber Heard settled her lawsuit against Johnny Depp, ending the years-long trial. In the time being, both Depp and Heard have looked to restart their respective film careers, but while Johnny Depp has struggled to find major roles in projects, Heard had a big role already secured with the sequel to Aquaman, one of the biggest movies of 2018. Yet it appears Warner Bros. might have downgraded her role.
Amber Heard in Aquaman
Both during the trial and after, Warner Bros. had to decide how to handle Heard in the upcoming film Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Aquaman is obviously a valuable brand for the studio, as the first film made over $1 billion worldwide. Warner Bros. requested Depp not reprise his role as Grindelwald in Fantastic Beast: The Secrets of Dumbledore after the bad press from Depp’s lawsuit against News Group in 2020 and his losing the case, resulting in the studio not having plausible deniability.
Now the same studio is tasked with a similar situation with Heard, as many online protests and petitions have called for Heard to be removed from the film. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom had been in development for years and began filming in June 2021, before the very public Amber Heard and Johnny Depp trial. While director James Wan explained Mera’s smaller role in the sequel was always going to be because he wanted to focus on the brother dynamic between Aquaman and Ocean Master, it is hard to ignore the fact that Mera’s role appears to be so minimal in the marketing for the movie for how big a role she had in the previous film and it appears rather calculated.
What Warner Bros. will do or should do is unclear; after all, the case with Heard and Depp was a complicated one, but the matter of fact is that Mera is a vital part of the franchise, and the studio must be careful with whatever they do.
Mera in the Aquaman Comics
Mera first appeared in Aquaman #11 in September 1963 and was created by Jack Miller and Nick Cardy. In the original comics, Mera originated from a place titled Dimension Aqua, which was later retconned for her to be a princess of Xebel, a forgotten extradimensional penal colony for an ancient group of separatist Atlanteans. Shortly after her appearance, she and Aquaman married in Aquaman #18 (published in December 1964), which was the first high-profile superhero wedding in comics.
Mera and Aquaman eventually had a son, Arthury Curry Jr., who was tragically killed by Aquaman’s arch-enemy, Black Manta. This caused a rift between Aquaman and Mera, and the two separated, but after years apart, they finally reconciled. Mera was a major part of both the ‘Blackest Night’ crossover event and Aquaman’s relaunch in DC’s New 52 and Rebirth runs.
Mera is arguably Aquaman’s most important supporting character and the two’s romance has been a defining part of both their characters. With the added element that Mera was originally sent by her father to kill the king of Atlantis, the two are often defined as star-crossed lovers who overcome the odds and whose marriage is the union between two different kingdoms. Mera is also a capable superhero in her own right, as she possesses powerful hydrokinetic powers, allowing her to control bodies of water, create “hard water” constructs, and also the ability to draw water from others, including sweat, tears, and blood from organic beings. This makes her one of the most powerful characters in the DC universe, and she has even been a member of the Justice League. Mera has a legion of loyal fans.
Mera in the DCEU So Far
When an Aquaman movie was announced in 2014, it was assumed that Mera would be a major character in it. In January 2016, Amber Heard was officially cast as Mera in the DCEU by Aquaman director James Wan. Heard would first appear in Justice League, directed by Zack Snyder, which was set for release in November 2017 before Aquaman was released in December 2018.
Mera was close with Aquaman’s mother, Queen Atlanna, and is the daughter of the King of Xebel, in an arranged marriage with Prince Orm (Patrick Wilson). She was guarding the Motherbox before Steppenwolf attacked Atlantis to claim it and gave Arthur his first suit of Atlantian armor and mother’s weapon. Later, she and Arthur team up to find the lost trident of the first king of Atlantis. At the end of the movie, Arthur and Mera have grown close and fallen in love, setting up Arthur’s role as king and Mera as his future queen.
Heard would later go on to reprise her role as Mera in The Snyder Cut of Justice League, filming additional scenes for the end of the film where she is revealed to be among the future Knightmare survivors alongside Batman, Deathstroke, The Flash, Cyborg, and Joker. She is at the moment still attached to play Mera in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, but rumors have circulated that the character’s screen time has been reduced due to the legal battle between Depp and Heard.
Rewriting Mera in the Lost Kingdom
Warner Brothers’ decision regarding Mera will be a complicated one. The studio has already downplayed her involvement in the film as she was not part of the 2021 DC FanDome presentation for the film. Some rumors have circulated the character will have minimal screen time. The fact that the character is only seen briefly in one scene of the trailer does not bode well for her role in the film.
The trailer also revealed that Mera and Aquaman’s son Arthur Curry Jr. (aka Aquababy), with the rumor now being that he will be used as a way to reduce Heard’s screentime. While initial rumors suggested she would die in childbirth, the trailers show her alive and well for the main action. This means that she might appear early in the film but will be taken off the board early. The trailer hints at Black Manta attempting to destroy Aquaman’s family so he might target his wife Mera. However, the question remains if the filmmakers want to be accused of fridging a main character.
Warner Bros. reportedly considered recasting Heard in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom not because of public backlash but reportedly due to a lack of chemistry with Jason Momoa. Killing off Mera or recasting her could come off as in bad taste — for some, there is still evidence to suggest she was a victim of domestic abuse, and many have defended her.
Aquaman’s Future
The other course of action is just to wait and see. Mera is important to Aquaman’s mythology, but neither she nor Amber Heard are the main sells for the franchise. Most audiences will likely be going to the sequel because they liked the first film and like the lead star, Jason Momoa. It is unclear how much keeping Heard as Mera, even in a small role, would actually push audiences away. Warner Bros. is also likely to consider if the controversy around Heard is a factor for international audiences, where the first Aquaman made most of its money (the film grossed $813 million worldwide with $291 million from China alone).
The other factor to consider is the fate of the DCEU, or as it will soon be rebranded, the DCU. James Gunn and Peter Safran are taking over and it appears they are setting the franchise with a new Superman and Batman, as well as their own interconnected story. While there are rumors certain actors from the DCEU will be carried over, it is still unclear.
While Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom comes out after The Flash and would technically be part of the reset timeline, it also appears to be very much still within the same continuity and the end of the DCEU. James Wan doesn’t even seem to know where Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom fall within this new slate. The film has already undergone a difficult production with multiple reshoots. With that, this might be all for nothing. The movie will come out, and DC will likely recast Aquaman and Mera in the new universe, meaning Heard can have one last shot at the character.
There is no easy answer for how to handle the character of Mera and Amber Heard’s involvement in the DCEU. Whatever Warner Bros. decides, it will likely be a controversial decision regardless, and the character of Mera will either be written out, forgotten, or reworked to fit within the new shared universe.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
