Well that was quick! Earlier today, it was alleged that Amber Heard had been removed from Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, something that has been pushed for over the last several years in a petition that was launched after Johnny Depp, Heard’s ex-husband, stepped away from the Fantastic Beasts film series. Now the actress’ spokesperson has responded to these claims about Heard no longer being involved in the upcoming DC movie.
While the original report claimed that Warner Bros. decided to bring in a new actress to take over as Mera during Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’s reshoots, Heard’s spokesperson told TMZ that there’s no truth to this rumor whatsoever, and that her client will continue to play Mera in the DC Extended Universe. As this individual put it:
The rumor mill continues as it has from Day One -- inaccurate, insensitive, and slightly insane.
So according to Amber Heard’s camp, nothing has changed with the actress’ involvement in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. TMZ hadn’t heard back from Warner Bros. Pictures before publishing its article, so there’s no official statement from the studio to pass along on this matter. Still, considering that Aquaman 2 finished principal photography back in January, even if reshoots are scheduled, taking Heard out of the movie this late into the game would be a strange move.
All this being said, even ignoring the petition to remove Amber Heard from Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (which recently passed 4.5 million signatures), recasting Mera has been apparently been brought before. During the defamation trial between Heard and Johnny Depp, the former’s agent, Jessica Kovacevic, alleged that Warner Bros. considered hiring a new actress to take over as Mera for the Aquaman sequel, supposedly because of Heard’s lack of chemistry with Jason Momoa. In the end though, the studio brought Heard back for another round of DCEU action, and as this spokesperson made clear, she’ll still be around in the sequel.
However, assuming Amber Heard is indeed present in the final cut of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, don’t expect to see a lot of her, at least compared to the first Aquaman movie. Heard said during the trial that her role in The Lost Kingdom was reduced, and while we still don’t know exactly how much screentime Mera will have, it had previously been rumored that it’s less than 10 minutes. Even so, hiring a new actress to play Mera would be a drastic step to take, and an expensive one at that since you’d be paying her replacement a hefty sum on top of whatever Heard was paid.
In any case, for now, CinemaBlend will keep passing along news concerning Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom as we get closer to its March 17, 2023 release. If you’re interested in streaming the first Aquaman movie, you can do so with an HBO Max subscription.
