Written By Mikey Sutton • Editor-in-Chief • Owner
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom couldn’t cut Amber Heard. Despite online petitions to remove Heard, she remains. Granted, studios don’t use fan polls for creative decisions. Nevertheless, Heard has become highly unpopular. When she lost in her ex-husband Johnny Depp’s defamation case, her image turned worse.
Many believed Warner Bros. Discovery would remove her from the Aquaman sequel.
However, a test screening for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom shows that Amber Heard remains in the movie.
Certainly, studios can show different versions of a film. Could there be Heard-less edition? Not likely. The following may contain spoilers. Proceed if you wish.
Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom Can’t Remove Amber Heard
Image: Warner Bros.
According to YouTube personality Syl Abdul, Amber Heard’s scenes are not all insignificant. Via Bounding Into Comics, he stated:
According to multiple sources…you can’t just remove Mera. Some scenes just wouldn’t even work.
Some rumors circulated that Heard’s Mera dies in the movie. Apparently, she does not. Nevertheless, Mera ends up in the hospital. In his new video, Abdul reveals “they bench her for at least a third of the movie.”
The first act shows an injury to Mera. Thus, this allows the filmmakers to sideline Amber Heard.
Without a doubt, Heard robs the movie of its commercial potential. Nonetheless, by minimizing her screen time, there’s less potential damage.
Still, this isn’t the final cut. Could they recast Heard in the film?
In late July, Abdul leaked that Heard didn’t appear for additional photography. But someone was playing Mera. Therefore, it led to speculation that another actress, maybe Emilia Clarke, took her place.
Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom Can’t Remove Amber Heard
Image: Warner Bros.
Clarke exhibited more chemistry with star Jason Momoa in Game of Thrones. Because of that, a number of people prefer Clarke as Mera. Yet Bounding Into Comics offers a sharp explanation for that not happening yet. Writer JB Augustine observed:
That’d be irrational at this point for a studio tightening its belt after it’s struggled financially in the past few years. Mera remaining is the only move that makes sense when they can hold onto her action beats when she shows up in the beginning and at the end while staying out of the thick of things.
In other words, wait for Aquaman 3 for a new Mera. Unless, of course, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom bombs. And Momoa turns into Lobo.