Warner Bros. is certainly in an interesting place regarding their DC properties. The DCEU has been in a tricky spot since it first launched with 2013’s Man of Steel, and following the poor critical reaction to both their 2016 films Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad, the studio has been trying to save the larger franchise ever since.
While it can be said the franchise has found its footing, it is still no stranger to negative headlines and bad press, from The Snyder Cut campaign just recently making headlines by having been manipulated by bots, to the ongoing trouble around The Flash star Ezra Miller. Another scandal that has hit the studio is the continued press around Aquaman star Amber Heard, who performs the role of Mera in the DCEU.
The Amber Heard Situation
ARC Entertainment
Amber Heard was in a very public dispute with her ex-husband, actor Johnny Depp. The divorce and accusations from Heard over Depp of domestic abuse resulted in a very public and high-profile trial where Depp sued Heard for defamation in a claim of $50 million in damages and Heard counter-sued Depp for $100 million in damages. The case became a big source of media attention, and the live stream of the trial became a huge talking point among people on various social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok. Fans of both stars began showing their support. In the end, the jury sided with Depp while also still ruling that Depp’s lawyer had defamed Heard. Since the trial, Heard has attempted to get a retrial, citing that jurors were not sequestered and were influenced by social media reports of the trial, but a judge recently denied the request.
Warner Bros. must now decide how to handle Heard in the upcoming film Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Aquaman is obviously a valuable brand for the studio, as the first film made over $1 billion worldwide. Warner Bros. requested Depp not reprise his role as Grindlewald in Fantastic Beast: The Secrets of Dumbledore after the bad press from Depp’s lawsuit against News Group in 2020 and him losing the case resulting in the studio not having plausibly deniability.
Now the same studio is tasked with a similar situation with Heard, as many online protests and petitions have called for Heard to be removed from the film. What Warner Bros. will do or should do is unclear; after all, the case with Heard and Depp was a complicated one, but the matter of fact is that Mera is a vital part of the franchise and the studio must be careful with whatever they do.
Mera in the Aquaman Comics
DC Comics
Mera first appeared in Aquaman #11 in September 1963 and was created by Jack Miller and Nick Cardy. In the original comics, Mera originated from a place titled Dimension Aqua, which was later retconned for her to be a princess of Xebel, a forgotten extradimensional penal colony for an ancient group of separatist Atlanteans. Shortly after her appearance, she and Aquaman married in Aquaman #18 (published in December 1964), which was the first high-profile superhero wedding in comics.
Mera and Aquaman eventually had a son, Arthury Curry Jr., who was tragically killed by Aquaman’s arch enemy Black Manta. This caused a rift between Aquaman and Mera, and the two separated, but after years apart finally reconciled. Mera was a major part of both the ‘Blackest Night’ crossover event and Aquaman’s relaunch in DC’s New 52 and Rebirth runs.
Mera is arguably Aquaman’s most important supporting character, and the two’s romance has been a defining part of both their characters. With the added element that Mera was originally sent by her father to kill the king of Atlantis, the two are often defined as star-crossed lovers who overcome the odds whose marriage is the union between two different kingdoms. Mera is also a capable superhero in her own right, as she possesses powerful hydrokinetic powers allowing her to control bodies of water, create “hard water” constructs, and also the ability to draw water from others including sweat, tears, and blood from organic beings. This makes her one of the most powerful characters in the DC universe and has even been a member of the Justice League. Mera has a legion of loyal fans.
Mera in the DCEU So Far
Warner Bros. Pictures
When an Aquaman movie was announced in 2014, it was assumed that Mera would be a major character in it. In January 2016, Amber Heard was officially cast as Mera in the DCEU by Aquaman director James Wan. Heard would first appear in Justice League, directed by Zack Snyder, which was set for release in November 2017 before Aquaman was released in December 2018.
Mera was close with Aquaman’s mother Queen Atlanna and is the daughter of the King of Xebel, in an arranged marriage with Prince Orm (Patrick Wilson). She was guarding the Motherbox before Steppenwolf attacked Atlantis to claim it, and gave Arthur his first suit of Atlantian armor and mother’s weapon. Later, she and Arthur team up to find the lost trident of the first king of Atlantis. At the end of the movie, Arthur and Mera have grown close and fallen in love, setting up Arthur’s role as king and Mera as his future queen.
Heard would later go on to reprise her role as Mera in The Snyder Cut of Justice League, filming additional scenes for the end of the film where she is revealed to be among the future Knightmare survivors alongside Batman, Deathstroke, The Flash, Cyborg, and Joker. She is at the moment still attached to play Mera in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, but rumors have circulated that the character’s screentime has been reduced due to the legal battle between Depp and Heard.
Rewriting Mera in the Lost Kingdom
Warner Brothers’ decision regarding Mera will be a complicated one. The studio has already downplayed her involvement in the film as she was not part of the 2021 DC FanDome presentation for the film. Some rumors have circulated the character will have minimal screentime. The major rumor is the film will introduce Mera and Aquaman’s son Arthur Curry Jr. (aka Aquababy), and that will be used as a way to reduce Heard’s screentime, by either having her die in childbirth or having her weakened in the film and not part of the main action. Killing off Mera might open the door for the franchise to explore other Aquaman love interests like Dolphin, but it also falls into a troubling trend of romantic interests being forgotten about or killed off early in a sequel.
With The Flash coming out three months after Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, that film is heavily believed to be rewriting the DCEU for the studio to rework and change elements that have not worked in the past with a simple explanation. Mera could have a reduced screen presence in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and then Aquaman 3 could feature a new performer as Mera, and the events of The Flash could be used to explain the change in appearance. Warner Bros. reportedly considered recasting Heard in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom not because of public backlash but reportedly due to a lack of chemistry with Jason Momoa. However, both recasting Heard and killing off Mera could come off as in bad taste — for some, there is still evidence to suggest she was a victim of domestic abuse and many have defended her.
Aquaman’s Future
The other course of action is just to wait and see. Mera is important to Aquaman’s mythology, but neither she nor Amber Heard are the main sells for the franchise. Most audiences will likely be going to the sequel because they liked the first film and like the lead star, Jason Momoa. It is unclear how much keeping Heard as Mera, even in a small role, would actually push audiences away. Warner Bros. is also likely to consider if the controversy around Heard is a factor for international audiences, where the first Aquaman made most of its money (the film grossed $813 million worldwide with $291 million from China alone).
There is no easy answer for how to handle the character of Mera and Amber Heard’s involvement in the DCEU. Whatever Warner Bros. decides, it will likely be a controversial decision regardless and the character of Mera will either be written out, forgotten, or reworked to fit within this shared cinematic universe.
