To be or not to be, that has been the dilemma for Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom when it came to Amber Heard reprising her role as Mera in the film. There has been online backlash, several petitions, and threats of DC fans boycotting the film if Warner Bros. didn’t drop Heard from the film in light of her defamation trial and domestic violence allegations against Johnny Depp. Rumors of James Wan axing her role and Mera being recast also did their respective rounds. But did it all work? Judging by the chatter around the official trailer of Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom, that does seem to be the case.
Warner Bros. powered through the chaotic Ezra Miller controversy and let The Flash release only to meet catastrophic results. Does the studio have it in itself to risk another disaster? Well, while there were never any official promises made of erasing Heard from The Lost Kingdom, the recently released trailer of the film has been fueling the belief that WB has finally parted ways with Heard.
Why? Because Heard, whose Mera was supposed to be one of the prime characters, is seemingly missing in the trailer.
Is Amber Heard in Aquaman 2?
Whether you were looking forward to Mera’s return, against her presence in Atlanta, or simply didn’t care about the whole drama as long as the film didn’t try to outpace The Flash as the worst DCEU film, here is the answer – yes, Amber Heard is in Aquaman 2, and you just blinked at the wrong time during the trailer.
Yep, because Heard’s very angry Mera gets like 0.001 milliseconds in the trailer before she disappears as if she was never there, to begin with.
It does confirm that despite the fury directed at her inclusion in the film, she is very much a part of it. But it also hints that the backlash has impacted her role.
Do we know Amber Heard’s screen time in Aquaman 2?
Officially? No. But there have been semi-official confirmations, rumors, and Heard’s claims that her role has been reduced. Back in April 2022, Puck News reported former President of DC Films Walter Hamada’s statement that the actress’ role in the film was initially declined in The Lost Kingdom because of chemistry issues with Jason Momoa. This was followed by the rumor in August 2022 that her total screen time in the film amounts to just 20 minutes.
The rumor was further confirmed recently when Wan addressed Heard’s complaint of her reduced presence in the film in a chat with Entertainment Weekly.
“I always pitched this to everyone from the get-go. The first Aquaman was Arthur and Mera’s journey. The second movie was always going to be Arthur and Orm. So, the first was a romance action-adventure movie, the second one is a bromance action-adventure movie. We’ll leave it at that.”
Given the barely-there moment Mera gets in the official trailer (after her reigning presence in Aquaman) and Wan’s almost-confirmation, it is becoming more and more plausible that no matter what might be fueling the decision Heard really does have a limited presence in Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom.
Aquaman 2 hits theaters this Dec. 20, 2023.
