Director James Wan hints at how much of Amber Heard’s role is left in Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom

We had it all wrong, it would seem - Mera was never going to be a major part of ‘Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom’ after all. At least, that’s what director James Wan has indicated in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly. 

Speculation mounted as to whether the public trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard would have a knock-on effect on her career as much as it did with Depp, who lost several roles during the prelude to the lawsuit including his role as Grindelwald in the third ‘Fantastic Beasts’ film. Heard went on to lose the court case, leading to many calling for her role in the Aquaman sequel to be cut - especially from those as part of the Johnny Depp fandom.

But in his most recent interview, Wan explained that the role of Mera wasn’t “pared down” due to studio pressure, but that Mera was never meant to be the focus of the sequel, lending credence to earlier speculation the film would explore more the relationship between Jason Momoa’s character and Orm, played by Patrick Wilson.

“I always pitched this to everyone from the get-go. The first Aquaman was Arthur and Mera’s journey. The second movie was always going to be Arthur and [his half-brother] Orm. So, the first was a romance action-adventure movie, the second one is a bromance action-adventure movie. We’ll leave it at that.”

That doesn’t indicate just how “small” the role of Mera will be in the new Aquaman film; some may remember in the court case that Heard accused Depp of pulling strings to ensure that she wouldn’t be featured in the film. Heard testified that she was told that a “lack of chemistry” with series star Jason Momoa led to her part being cut back.

When is ‘Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom’ released?

‘Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom’ is scheduled for theatrical release on December 20 2023.