James Wan Says It Was “Always” The Plan to Have Less Amber Heard in ‘Aquaman 2’

The Big Picture

• Amber Heard’s screen time in Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom is reportedly significantly lower than in the first installment, which was confirmed by director James Wan.
• It is unclear at what capacity Mera will be featured in the story, as details about the film have not been revealed yet.
• The movie marks a new direction for the DC Extended Universe, with Aquaman crossing over into the new cinematic universe envisioned by James Gunn and Peter Safran.

As we finally gear up to watch Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom after numerous delays, we can’t help but think about the journey that this blockbuster went through until we could finally watch it. One of the behind-the-scenes drama involved cast member Amber Heard, who plays Mera in the franchise and had a very public divorce with Johnny Depp (Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald) that affected both their images.

Among rumors that she would be recast so that the drama wouldn’t be in the back of viewers’ minds (which Heard herself denied) the truth of the matter is that the actor is still very much present in the sequel. However, her screen time is reportedly significantly lower than in the first installment – which was claimed by the actor herself while calling it a “smear campaign.” In an interview for Empire Magazine, though, Aquaman 2 director James Wan (Saw) stated that this was by design:

“It’s fair that she said that [about Mera being pared down], because she wasn’t in my head as I was working on this movie. Actors don’t necessarily know what we [directors] behind the scenes are thinking about. But this was always my plan. From the start, I pitched that the first film would be a ‘Romancing the Stone’-type thing – an action-adventure romantic comedy – while the second would be an outright buddy comedy. I wanted ‘Tango & Cash!’”

Heard’s Screen Time in ‘Aquaman 2’ Is Still Kind of a Mystery

Even though Heard has publicly complained about her participation getting reduced, we still don’t know at what capacity Mera will be featured in the story. It’s fairly common for actors not to watch the finished film until the premiere, so maybe she also doesn’t know to what extent her role was pared down. However, Heard did read a script before filming, so if Mera’s part was always reduced she’d have known it from the start. In any case, we’ll have a better picture when Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom finally premieres.

We still don’t know details of the story of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, but this is the movie that finally puts to rest the original DC Extended Universe that crashed and burned over the last few years. Jason Momoa’s Arthur Curry is expected to cross over into the new DC cinematic universe idealized by James Gunn and Peter Safran but, as we’ve learned with DC movies, nothing is set in stone until we see it on the screen.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom premieres in theaters on December 22.

You can watch the latest trailer below:

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