For a long time, Aquaman looked like it might be a box office bomb of epic proportions. With Warner Bros.’ DCEU still reeling from the disaster of Justice League, we went months and months without a trailer and there was vicious Hollywood gossip about behind-the-scenes drama. On top of all that, this was an Aquaman film. For the last two decades, the character has been the butt of ‘talks to fish’ jokes. Then, the movie was finally released and it turned out it was great. Not only that, but it went on to make an impressive $1.15 billion dollars at the global box office.
With a performance like that, Aquaman 2 is a no-brainer, but Warner Bros. aren’t stopping there. They’ve already announced The Trench, a horror-themed spinoff, and now it seems they’re pursuing a spinoff exploring the further adventures of Atlantean princess Mera.
According to our sources – the same ones who said WB offered J.J. Abrams a Green Lantern and/or Superman movie, and that the JSA will appear in Black Adam, both of which we now know to be true – the studio would like a female director to helm the project, Jason Momoa and Willem Dafoe will cameo and the plot will be something to do with her discovering a hidden artefact under the sea.
News that Warner Bros. is considering this will be music to the ears of Aquaman fans, as Mera was generally considered one of the best parts of the movie. But there’s a whole other fanbase that will be gnashing their teeth at the news.
That’s because Amber Heard is currently engaged in an acrimonious legal battle with ex-husband Johnny Depp, with each accusing the other of abusive and manipulative behaviour. There’s even a petition that currently has 42,000 signatures to get her removed from Aquaman 2 on the grounds that Warner Bros. shouldn’t “glamorize a domestic abuser.”
I’m not about to wade into that particular snake pit, but if this news does pan out and the actress gets her own Aquaman spinoff, it shows that the studio may believe Heard’s side of the story over Depp’s. Of course, neither will come out of this smelling of roses, but at least she has some big new projects going forward.
