As things stand, Amber Heard is still scheduled to return as Mera in Aquaman 2 when cameras start rolling on James Wan’s blockbuster sequel next year. After facing massive backlash for firing Johnny Depp from Fantastic Beasts 3, Warner Bros. are presumably operating in the hopes that the furor will have died down by the time the DCEU movie hits theaters in two years from now.
Fans are already threatening to boycott both Fantastic Beasts 3 and Aquaman 2, though, and while it remains to be seen if those campaigns will be kept up for that long, we all know what happened when WB spent years being bombarded about the Snyder Cut of Justice League. Indeed, over a million people have lent their names to a petition so far to have the actress fired from her role, something they deem to be fair game after her ex-husband was asked to step down as Grindelwald.
Heard recently broke her silence on the matter and reiterated that she’s definitely going to be back for Aquaman 2, but she also suggested that the campaigns launched against her are being funded in an attempt to smear her name and destroy her reputation.
“Paid rumors and paid campaigns on social media don’t dictate casting decisions because they have no basis in reality.”
While coordinated social media campaigns have become an increasingly regular phenomenon in recent years, there’s a big difference in getting Alita: Battle Angel released back into theaters and the overwhelming negativity surrounding Amber Heard‘s continued involvement in the DCEU. In any case, the warring ex-spouses are set to battle once again after suing each other for defamation, and the outcome of that could have a huge bearing on whether or not she remains part of Aquaman 2‘s ensemble by the time production kicks off.
