After years of delays, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom finally swam into theaters in December 2023, marking the end of the DC Extended Universe. A sequel to the Jason Momoa-led 2018, it centered mostly around the relationship between the titular hero and his villainous brother, Orm, a.k.a. Ocean Master and their efforts to defeat Black Manta. Those who followed the flick’s production, however, probably know that it went through reshoots, which resulted in some story changes. Dolph Lundgren and Amber Heard were among those whose roles were reportedly cut down as a result of the shifts, and the former shared some thoughts on that.
Dolph Lundgren played (the formerly antagonistic) King Nereus in the Aquaman duology. While his role in the first installment was fairly significant, his presence in The Lost Kingdom was somewhat diminished. The 66-year-old actor recently spoke about how the superhero film ultimately shook out while promoting his latest film, Wanted Man. As the star explained, he personally enjoyed an earlier iteration of the swashbuckling blockbuster:
My opinion is that I thought the original script was great. I was a bigger part of it and Amber Heard was a bigger part of it. When you start inserting different story elements into something [with which] there was a unity that worked, then you can get in trouble.
In the movie, Nereus aids Arthur Curry in his attempt to take down the corrupted Black Manta and thwart his environmental-based machinations. He’s not unimportant to the story, but he does mostly sit on the sidelines this time around. Dolph Lundgren, during his interview with UPI, also shared his view on the challenges of reshooting significant portions of a movie. He also provided a summation of his feelings over his role in the production being cut down:
The studio decided, I guess, to just reshoot a bunch of footage to try to rebuild a slightly different storyline. That's tricky because you can't reshoot the whole movie. It was a little frustrating for me. I felt a little disappointed, but life goes on.
Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom: How Much Is Amber Heard's Mera In The Movie And Why Is She Important?
He does make a fair point, in that reshooting portions of a feature film can be tricky, if you’re aiming to produce a cohesive piece of work. The results aren’t always negative, though, as additional photography can be invaluable at times. In the case of The Lost Kingdom, it would seem that there was a lot of work done. In July 2023, Orm actor Patrick Wilson seemingly confirmed reshoots had taken place around that time. Within a few days of that news hitting the web, it was also reported that Ben Affleck’s Batman would not appear as planned.
While not much was made of Dolph Lundgren’s role in the leadup to the movie, there was a considerable amount of speculation swirling around Amber Heard. It was Heard herself who confirmed during her testimony amid her defamation case with ex-husband Johnny Depp that Mera – the character she plays – had been relatively cut out of the new script. However, director James Wan stated that Mera was always set to play a smaller role this time around.
Neither Dolph Lundgren nor Amber Heard are likely to reprise their roles in upcoming DC movies due to the end of the DCEU and the imminent rise of the DCU. Some may continue to wonder how their characters may have figured in before rewrites and reshoots, but most are likely looking to the future at this point. And, while he’s apparently “disappointed” with how everything panned out, it seems Lundgren is simply going to move on as well.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is still playing in theaters. You can also stream the first movie using a Max subscription and, with that membership, you can also watch the DC movies in order.
