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Credit: Warner Bros.Ahead of the release of director James Wan’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023), DC Studios recently unveiled a new TV spot briefly highlighting the sequel’s most controversial character, Mera, played by Amber Heard. And needless to say, some internet commentators aren’t too happy about the whole thing.
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The final DCEU entry is at last upon us, marking the end of Zach Snyder’s “SnyderVerse” with the sequel to Warner Bros.’ billion-dollar hit, Aquaman (2018). Jason Momoa, who plays the titular Atlantean king, also known as Arthur Curry, will reprise his role for the movie alongside an all-star cast from the likes of Patrick Wilson, who plays Orm/Ocean Master, Temuera Morrison, who plays Thomas “Tom” Curry, Nicole Kidman, who plays Atlanna, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who plays Black Manta.
Now the King of Atlantis, Arthur juggles his new job with being a first-time father and husband. However, not everyone is happy about his ascent to the throne — especially Black Manta, who has some unfinished business with Aquaman. Vowing to destroy everything Arthur knows and loves after losing to him in the first film, this time around, Black Manta wields the power of the mythic Black Trident, which unleashes an ancient and malevolent force upon the underwater kingdoms.
Check out the official trailer for DC Studios and Warner Bros.’ Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom below:
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Despite marking Momoa’s final outing as Aquaman and the conclusion of the DCEU before James Gunn and Peter Safran take over at DC, analysts are already expecting the comic book sequel to flop, given its hefty price tag and weeks of costly reshoots. Based on early box office projections, it sounds like Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom may indeed sink under the sheer amount of negative press surrounding its production, no thanks due to Amber Heard’s role as Arthur’s wife, Mera.
When Johnny Depp sued his former wife, Amber Heard, for defamation last year after she published a damning op-ed to the Washington Post accusing him of domestic violence, no one could’ve expected the utter media firestorm that would ensue. The highly publicized trial saw the two actors going face-to-face in front of millions of people before Depp eventually won the case and was awarded a total of $15 million in damages.
Heard, without a doubt, suffered the cultural wrath of speaking out against a man as widely beloved as the Pirates of the Caribbean star, leading to thousands of fans to call for her firing from Justice League (2017) and Aquaman. Similar sentiments were echoed when Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom began production, which, according to Heard, led to director James Wan trimming her role in the film short.
The filmmaker adamantly denied Heard’s accusations, claiming he never intended to “par down” Mera’s involvement in the Aquaman sequel. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, he explained that he pitched a buddy-comedy team-up between Orm and Arthur “from the get-go” and that the brothers’ relationship was always going to be the focal point of the film. The Mera actress also accused Momoa of wanting her fired, going as far as to dress up as Johnny Depp and “drunkenly” harass her on set.
A DC spokesperson has since denied these rumors, but the universal hatred toward Heard — particularly in regards to Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom — has persevered. Now, with the release of the new move right around the corner, even DC and Warner Bros. seem to be aware of audiences’ disdain for the actress, as her character is virtually nowhere to be seen in trailers and other promotional materials.
However, we recently got a brand new — albeit extremely brief — look at Mera in the upcoming Aquaman installment thanks to a recently unveiled TV spot. The clip was shared to X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) by the aptly-named user @LeaveHeardAlone, showing a — literally — blink-and-you’ll-miss-it still of Mera. The latest clip shows the distraught Atlantean crying out as Arthur’s childhood home burns to the ground, presumably after learning that Black Manta has kidnapped her son.
Mera Appears in a new clip for #AquamanAndTheLostKingdom
The clip is so short it looks like they tried to edit her out and missed a bit.
If they don’t put Amber in more promos, her supporters aren’t going to show up for this film. #NoMeraNoMoney
Mera Appears in a new clip for #AquamanAndTheLostKingdom
The clip is so short it looks like they tried to edit her out and missed a bit.
If they don’t put Amber in more promos, her supporters aren’t going to show up for this film. #NoMeraNoMoney pic.twitter.com/TGBa5AhK10
— 𝙻𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚎𝙷𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚍𝙰𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚎 (@LeaveHeardAlone) December 5, 2023
As pointed out by the original poster, the clip is so short that almost looks like an editing “whoopsie,” continuing DC and Warner Bros.’ strategy of only featuring Mera for a few seconds in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom teasers and other TV promos, as if to avoid garnering backlash. Reports have claimed that Heard only has about 20 minutes of screen time in the movie, which isn’t a lot, but is still enough for her to have speaking lines and some sort of importance to the overarching story.
Still, some supporters online continue to rally behind Heard, with the aforementioned tweet suggesting that her more hardcore fans will boycott the DCEU film altogether if Mera doesn’t receive a good chunk of screen time.
Regardless, it seems inevitable that Heard’s role, no matter how substantial it is, will ruffle feathers when Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom swims into theaters on December 22, 2023.
Are you skipping out on Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, or do you already have your tickets? Let us know in the comments below!