Amber Heard Breaks Her Silence On Mera’s Controversy in ‘Aquaman 2’

Amber Heard has finally decided to break her silence amid the growing controversy surrounding her involvement in the sequel, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. The actress’s successful rise in Hollywood culminated as a referent of the #metoo movement. However, Heard became the epicenter of legal disputes and media controversies with her ex-husband, Johnny Depp. From this, her role in the DC Comics franchise has been the subject of intense debates and discussions among fans.

Amber Heard’s Statements About Aquaman 2

The controversy started when Heard filed a defamation lawsuit against Depp. This happened after he accused her of domestic violence during their tumultuous relationship. This legal case exposed intimate and conflicting details, creating two camps of opinion between those who support Depp and those who support Heard. In 2020, Johnny Depp lost a libel suit against a British newspaper that called him a “wife beater.” However, this generated more controversy surrounding the credibility of Heard’s accusations.

Amber Heard’s involvement in Aquaman 2 has sparked intense criticism and online petitions calling for her dismissal from the project. Divided fans have expressed their support or disapproval of the actress. It has also created polarization around the film even before its release.

“After all this time, Aquaman 2 made its splash (sorry, too easy). Thank you to all my fans for the overwhelming support and love on the return of Mera AQ,” she wrote. “Thank you so much. #aquaman.”

Speculation arose about Amber Heard’s reduced role in Aquaman 2, with many attributing it to her ongoing legal disputes with her ex-husband, Johnny Depp. In March 2019, a petition was started on Change.org, asking the film’s producers to remove Heard’s involvement, eventually amassing more than 4.6 million signatures.

During Johnny Depp’s defamation trial against Heard in 2022, she revealed that she had to actively defend her continued participation in the film. According to her, the studio initially showed reluctance, expressing that “they didn’t want to include me in the movie.”

“They gave me a script and then they gave me new versions of the script that had removed scenes with action that featured my character and another character. Without giving away any spoilers, two characters fighting each other,” she said on the stand. Basically, they removed a lot of scenes from my role. They just eliminated a lot of it.

Director James Wan’s Response to the allegations

In October, Variety published a report suggesting that Amber Heard’s role in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was preserved thanks to the intervention of her ex-boyfriend, Elon Musk. According to the media outlet, Musk sent a strongly worded letter, described as a “scorched earth” communication, to Warner Bros. where he threatened to take drastic action if Heard was dropped from the production.

Contrary to these claims, director James Wan clarified in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that he never intended for Amber Heard to co-direct the sequel.

“I always pitched it to everybody from the beginning. The first Aquaman was Arthur and Mera’s journey,” he said. “The second movie was always going to be Arthur and Orm. So the first one was a romantic action-adventure movie. The second one is a bromantic action-adventure movie. We’ll leave it at that.”

The controversy surrounding Amber Heard and her role in Aquaman 2 is now over. In addition, the actress has announced that she will separate from acting for an indefinite period of time. After all the uproar over the lawsuit, Heard must improve her public image to return to acting.

Warner Bros.’ decision to keep Amber Heard in the cast of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will probably continue to generate passionate debates among fans. However, we got a taste of director James Wan’s honesty. The filmmaker warned that the movie was not about her. Finally, we could see that it was an adventure between the two brothers and that she had little protagonism.

Featured image Via Warner Bros. / Amber Heard Instagram

I am a circus aerialist influenced by Dick Grayson and Spider-Man. Fortunate to write about the characters that inspired me. I also have a Bachelor's degree in Political Science and a Master's degree in International Trade.