Is Amber Heard in Aquaman 2? rumoured salary and screen time for Princess Mera role in The Lost Kingdom

Amber Heard reprises her role as Princess Mera in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, her second film role since her 2022 Johnny Depp defamation trial. Her first film post-trial, In the Fire, an American period thriller, was review bombed following its release, and Aquaman is already the subject of controversy for keeping the star in its cast.

Heard was found at a Virginia trial in June 2022 to have defamed her ex-husband Johnny Depp in a Washington Post article in which she spoke about experiencing domestic abuse and was hit by $10 million in compensatory damages and a further $5 million in punitive damages, the latter reduced to $350,000.

However, in 2020 Depp had lost a libel case against The Sun in the UK, which ruled that the newspaper could fairly label him a wife-beater. As a result of the two legal cases, both actors’ careers have suffered - Depp was dropped from the Pirates of the Caribbean and Fantastic Beasts franchises, and Heard’s roles have begun to dry up.

How much was Amber Heard paid for Aquaman 2?

Heard was reportedly paid $2 million for her supporting role as Princess Mera in the Aquaman sequel, double her salary for the first film. Mera is the Queen of Atlantis and the wife of the titular hero Aquaman who is played by Jason Moama in the DC films. Moama will make $15 million for the film, double his salary for the first instalment. 

She debuted as Mera in the 2017 crossover film Justice League, before appearing in Aquaman the following year, and the Zack Snyder Justice League cut in 2021. Her Justice League salary has not been confirmed but has been estimated around the $300,000 mark.

Although she will return in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom with a significant salary bump, her screen time is expected to be much reduced due to the backlash following her defamation trial defeat last year.

How much screen time does Amber Heard have in Aquaman 2?

Amber Heard’s screen time is expected to be much reduced in the sequel - in the aftermath of the defamation case it was rumoured that she would have as little as eight minutes of screen time.

Her time spent on the movie was not affected, as filming was completed in January 2022, months before the defamation trial began. Instead, it is expected that deep cuts to her scenes will have taken place, writing her out of much of the film.

Heard is also noticeably absent from most of the film’s promotion - she does not feature on the official posters, and in the trailer she has a literal blink and you’ll miss it appearance for less than one second at the 2.23 mark.