Why is Mera, played by Amber Heard, less present in Aquaman 2? Director James Wan answers the question.
Released in theaters on December 20, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom had a very average start in France with just over 93,000 admissions. For comparison, the first opus attracted 150,000 spectators on the day of its release in December 2018. Internationally, it has so far only collected 120 million dollars for a budget of 205 million.
The feature film suffered from chaotic production before arriving in cinemas after the box office setbacks of the latest DC works. From Black Adam to The Flash via Shazam 2 and Blue Beetle, these films have been dismal failures.
Furthermore, Aquaman 2 was also a collateral victim of the highly publicized trial concerning Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. As a reminder, the actress sparked controversy, saying that her legal problems had prompted the studio to reduce her role as Mera in the Aquaman sequel.
“I was given a script, then different versions where action sequences had been removed. Without spoiling too much, two characters had to face another. In the new versions, my character did less things. They removed not bad things. I fought to stay on this film. They didn’t want me to be in it.”she confided during the trial against Johnny Depp in May 2022.
In September 2023, director James Wan wanted to react, denying Amber Heard’s comments in the columns ofEntertainment Weekly. For the filmmaker, if Mera is less present in this second part, it is only due to a deliberate script choice.
“I always said that the first Aquaman was about Arthur and Mera’s journey and that the 2nd one would be about Arthur and Orm. The first was a mix of romance, action and adventure. The second was a mix of bromance, action and adventure. I won’t say more”he indicated.
Two months after this interview, James Wan gave a new interview to Empire magazine, once again raising the question of Mera’s role. “It’s normal that Amber Heard could have said that [que son rôle avait été réduit] because I didn’t think about the character at all when I was working on the film. The actors are not necessarily aware of what the directors are preparing behind the scenes.”explains the director.
My plan was clear from the start.
“But my plan was clear from the start, it was always like that in my head. From the beginning, I proposed that Aquaman 1 would be inspired byChasing the green diamond, an action-adventure romantic comedy; as for the second, I saw it as a buddy movie style Tango & Cash“underlines James Wan.
For the filmmaker, if Mera’s role is less substantial than in the first episode, it is only due to an artistic choice and not a consequence of her legal setbacks. Whatever the case, Aquaman 2 is heading straight towards drowning at the box office, definitively burying the DCEU as we knew it before the reboot that James Gunn and Peter Safran, the new bosses of the DC studio, are preparing for us.