Playing the female lead in the highest-grossing DC Comics adaptation ever made is a plum gig, but Amber Heard has been facing widespread calls to be replaced as Mera in Aquaman 2 after the public seemed to definitively side with Johnny Depp. The former married couple have been locked in a series of bitter and protracted legal battles for years now, and while fans want Depp reinstated to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, they also want his ex-wife booted from the DCEU.
It presents quite a headache for Warner Bros., with both of them holding major roles in two of the studio’s biggest franchises, leading to reports that Aquaman 2 and Fantastic Beasts 3 are being filmed in a way that will allow the editors to drastically reduce the screen time for Heard’s Mera and Depp’s Grindelwald without affecting the movie’s central story.
That being said, we’ve now heard from our sources – the same ones that told us Justice League Dark was in the works for HBO Max and that Ben Affleck is returning as Batman in The Flash – that WB aren’t taking any chances, and are planning on introducing some major new female characters in Aquaman 2 in an effort to shift a bit of the focus away from the potentially troublesome Heard.
According to our intel, one of these will be Arthur Curry’s frequent comic book love interest Dolphin, who will presumably get a real name when she makes the jump to live-action, while the other remains unconfirmed at this point. Of course, should public opinion swing back in the actress’ favor, the studio could always increase her role and reduce the presence of the others in post-production or even during the shoot, but right now, at least, the plan is to have Dolphin and another major female character around so that not so much of the spotlight needs to be placed on Heard in Aquaman 2.
