Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is one of the most anticipated DC movies at the moment. Its release, which was originally slated for December this year, was postponed to March 2013 for several reasons, including the director, James Wan, needing extra time to work on the director’s cut of the film.
The most recent news fans have regarding this sequel is that Amber Heard’s character, Mera, will have only as much as 10 minutes of time on screen. The reason for this is that the actress is currently undergoing a defamation trial from her former husband, Johnny Depp. The actor claims that she falsely accused him of being violent and abusive, which immediately cost him his role in many movies, including Pirates of the Caribbean.
During the trial, Johnny Depp has repeatedly stated that he feels that no matter the result of this trial, Amber won on the day she accused him, as she succeeded in ruining his reputation and career. The actor, who has barely had a handful of roles since 2018, said he felt betrayed by Disney, for immediately dropping him after his ex-wife’s allegations.
He said: “I didn’t quite understand how after that long relationship and quite a successful relationship, certainly for Disney, that suddenly I was guilty until proven innocent.”
As the trial moved forward, and allegations were made that Heard could have been domestically abusive of the actor, an online petition was created for her to lose her Mera role. Jeanne Larson, who started the petition, believes Amber had been “exposed as a domestic abuser” and canceling her appearance in Aquaman 2 would prevent her from getting away with this. Larson also explains in the text accompanying the petition that Heard could have a past history of violence against other partners, prior to marrying Johnny Depp.
Earlier this year, fans of the actor were already questioning James Wan’s decision to keep her in the movie. They felt she did not deserve to keep her job, just like her ex-husband had not been allowed to keep his movie roles, even without an official ruling.
It was not only his role of Captain Jack Sparrow that Depp lost. He was also asked to resign from his participation in Harry Potter’s spin-off, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. So fans of the actor felt it was only fair that Hollywood showed Heard the same treatment.
However, James Wan decided to keep her in the movie, because he appreciated her talent, and he felt it was not his place to make that decision before a court ruling was made.
Film critic and journalist, Grace Randolph said on Twitter that Heard will have less than 10 minutes in Aquaman 2, a post that was met with satisfactory likes and comments. It is unclear whether the decision to cut so much of Aquaman’s love interest from the movie was based on the online petition—which was signed by over 3.5 million people—or due to the allegations made against her in court.
Fans also speculate the actress might not be returning for a third rendition of Aquaman, if there is one. In which case, some of the names circulating to interpret Mera are Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones), Alicia Vikander (Tomb Raider) or Karen Gillan (Guardians of the Galaxy).
