Amber Heard is back on the big screen as she reprises her role as Mera in the highly anticipated Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
...However, fans of the first movie should probably prepare themselves for a more limited role than that of the first Aquaman movie.
In the 2018 DC movie Aquaman, Heard's character Mera played a prominent role as the love interest of Arthur Curry, portrayed by Jason Momoa. However, as reported by Business Insider, Mera's presence is notably scaled back in the sequel - despite her now being married to Aquaman and having a child with him.
During her defamation trial against her former husband, Johnny Depp, Heard claimed that her role in the sequel had been significantly reduced. Heard revealed to the Fairfax courtroom that she received a new version of the movie sequel’s script that withdrew a fight scene involving her - resulting in a "very pared-down version" of her part.
"I fought really hard to stay in the movie. They didn’t want to include me in the film," she said at the time, per CNN.
The highly publicized trial between Heard and Depp garnered attention all over the world - with fans of the stars taking sides. In fact, during the trial, a Change.org petition was circulated on social media calling for Warner Bros. to remove Heard from the DC sequel - with the petition amassing more than 4.6 million signatures.
Check out the Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom trailer below (and see if you can spot Heard):She claimed that some of her action scenes were removed, and she had to fight to remain in the film. Walter Hamada, the former president of Warner Bros.' DC Films, refuted these claims in a pre-recorded deposition, asserting that Heard was never intended to be a co-lead in the sequel.
Variety reported in October that at least two scenes featuring Heard were cut from the film, including a fight sequence with the antagonist Black Manta - played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II - and a romantic scene between Mera and Aquaman. Consequently, Heard's total screen time in the near-two-hour movie amounts to approximately 15 to 20 minutes.
Insider reports that she has just 11 brief speaking parts, along with "grunts, and a laugh".
The rest of this article contains plot spoilers for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom...
In Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Mera is initially depicted ruling over Atlantis and engaging in council sessions. However, she becomes critically injured by Black Manta during an attack on Atlantis, sidelining her for a significant portion of the movie. She later returns in the final act to assist Aquaman and his half-brother Orm in their battle against Black Manta.
Insider reports that Mera's character in the sequel is "devoid of any real depth" and that her presence in the movie "feels purely contractural to fulfill her three-movie deal with Warner Bros."
Her on-screen presence is largely reduced to standing beside or behind Aquaman, contributing little to the narrative. Her dialogue is minimal and often consists of simple sentences - a stark contrast to her more substantial and emotional conversations in the first film.
While Mera occasionally demonstrates her powers, she has limited interaction with her newborn son, Arthur Jr. Instead, Aquaman and his father handle most of the parenting duties on land, while Mera rules Atlantis off-screen as queen.
Director James Wan clarified in a September interview with Entertainment Weekly that Heard was never intended to co-lead the sequel, with the primary focus being on the bromance between Aquaman and his estranged brother Orm.
However, fans will no doubt speculate if there was originally supposed to be an alternate version of the film that explored the dynamic between Mera, Orm, and Aquaman more extensively.
In the end, regardless of her reduced screen time, Amber Heard emerged victorious. She disclosed that she earned $2 million for her role in the sequel, even before factoring in potential box-office bonuses.