In late March, Aquaman will finally make his jump to the big screen played by Jason Momoa in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Following his big team up with other DC heroes in 2017’s Justice League: Part One, he’ll finally get to strike out on his own in Aquaman. So far Momoa (duh) is the only lead confirmed for the 2018 blockbuster, but now Warner Bros. is apparently eyeing The Danish Girl star Amber Heard to play his wife and fellow superhero, Mera.
Heard is currently in negotiations to join Aquaman, according to THR. She is described as the "eventual queen of Atlantis," meaning that she and Aquaman won’t be an item when we first meet her. The report also mentions that Mera would make her first appearance in Justice League: Part One, lining up with a rumor from last November, though it’s unclear whether this would be a minor appearance or if she would fight alongside her future husband and the other Justice Leaguers.
Mera debuted in the comics in 1963, and while her main duties are overseeing the Atlantean kingdom, she has also helped protect the surface world on several occasions. She shares many of the same abilities as Aquaman, like super strength and breathing underwater, but unlike the King of Atlantis, she can also manipulate water and solidify it to wield as weapons. Outside of the comics, she has appeared in shows like Justice League and Smallville, as well as animated movies like Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox and Justice League: Throne of Atlantis.
Amber Heard currently can be seen as Ulla in Tom Hooper's The Danish Girl. Her other credits include North Country, 3 Days to Kill, Magic Mike XXL and the short-lived NBC series The Playboy Club. While physically she looks close enough to Mera, her hair would obviously need to be dyed red for the full effect. It’s also a mystery whether Heard’s Mera would wear her usual green outfit or don something a little more regal in the DC Extended Universe.
With the movie still years away, little is known about what to expect from Aquaman’s first solo adventure. The movie is being directed by Furious 7’s James Wan, while two scripts, being written by David Leslie Johnson and Kurt Johnstad, respectively, are being written at the same time. The main villain of the movie was recently rumored to be Aquaman’s younger half-brother Orm, a.k.a. Ocean Master, and at one point Star Trek star Karl Urban was reportedly considered for the role. With royalty set to play a big role in Aquaman, as well as Mera being described by one outlet as the "Khaleesi of the sea," one wonders if the movie will be like an underwater Game of Thrones.
Aquaman swims into theaters on July 27, 2018.
