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Warner Bros. is in a difficult position regarding the future of Amber Heard’s Mera in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and the DCEU as a whole. Now that a jury has found Heard’s abuse allegations against Johnny Depp to be false, many are anxious to have her removed from the sequel, and reports of what action Warner Bros. is taking are conflicting.
Mera has been reported to play an important role in this aquaman 2, with the wife of Jason Mamoas Arthur Curry is to have a child with the king of Atlantis. Reports have been everywhere about how Warner Bros. intends to handle the situation; Some claim she’s been removed entirely, others suggest her screen time is around ten minutes.
Now, reports from the latest test screening claim her role in previous shows may have even increased, prompting fan outcry.
The Aquaman 2 boycott goes viral
A recent rumor from undercover audience indicated that Amber Heards saw Mera have an expanded role in the final test screening Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Previous reports claimed her screen time was close to ten minutes, while the latest rumor now lists her as 20-25 minutes into the sequel.
The reports have spurred a viral boycott of the DC sequel “#boycottaquaman2” has started trending on Twitter – a sign of the viral nature of the protest.
@BeautyBellaReid was a user who shared the hashtag, suggesting that “When a woman is abused in Hollywood, you get more screen time.” while Warner Bros. previously fired Depp Fantastic Beasts when Heard made allegations against him:
“Ahhh ok… so when a woman is abused in Hollywood they give you more screen time… yeah that makes sense.”
@ariana_fsouza offered her hopes for the film “The Failure of the Century:”
“I hope Aquaman 2 will be the failure of the century.”
@starling_ginger justified the boycott and implied that the only way Heard would be removed from the film was for “We must all turn our backs on this film together:”
“The only safe way [Amber Heard] away from #Aquaman2 is for all of us to turn our backs on this film together. Movies are a consumer-oriented industry, WE are the consumers. dislikes something; Don’t waste your $$.”
@annmarie2407 so called fans to do so “Make #boycottaquamn2 trendy again” in an attempt to remove Heard from the film:
“#Amberheard is still in Aquaman 2 and she has more screen time. We need to get #boycottaquaman2 working again.”
@ Tammy_B described her sympathies for Aquaman Star Jason Mamoa as him ‘ was caught in the middle [Heard’s] Chaos:”
“I felt bad for Jason Momoa because he thought he was caught in the middle [Amber Heard’s] Chaos. But after seeing that, I don’t feel bad for him at all. taste [Heard’s] Post”
@IvySyndicate proclaims to “refused to watch” the movie, if Heard appears in any form:
“I don’t care how much screen time she has. I don’t care how many lines it has. I don’t care how many times she appears in the film. If Amber Heard is in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, I refuse to watch it.”
@ShellyMinutillo urged Warner Bros. to remove Heard and blamed it “Curdling Up to a Spoiled Little Lying Spouse Abuser:”
“In the name of fairness, it should be removed. Your @wbpictures need to be verified. Her fortune is thanks to her fans, so turning to a spoiled little lying spouse instead of hearing us is the ultimate insult. sorry jason I would speak if I were you”
@endless_summie questioned “if [Heard] male, it would still be like that” that she stays in the film:
“I heard the news [Amber Heard] the culprit remains in #Aquaman2 If [Heard] was male, would it still be the case? I’ve seen the whole process, I won’t spend my hard-earned money to watch this film.”
@WildcatME1999 pointed out that Warner Bros. removed Depp Fantastic Beasts but left Heard in the Aquaman Consequence:
“So @warnerbros removed Johnny Depp from Fantastic Beasts, but they allow Amber Heard to star in Aquaman 2? Wow, you can’t get more delusional than that.”
Not everyone seems to agree with the boycott, such as @PnutButta3who suggested this “Jason Mamoa doesn’t deserve to be punished for a co-star he’s not a fan of:”
“I’m not going to #boycottaquaman2. My husband Jason Mamoa doesn’t deserve to be punished for a co-star he’s not a fan of. Find another way to show your displeasure.”
Will Amber Heard be removed from Aquaman 2?
A little over a week has passed since Johnny Depp was awarded substantial damages by Amber Heard for the verdict in her defamation trial. Because Mera has an important role to play in the Aquaman franchise, it’s far too soon to expect action to be taken against them as a result of the verdict.
If Warner Bros. considers downsizing or eliminating her role altogether, it will take time and reshoots, not just a simple remake. What action the studio intends to take should become clearer in the coming months, as the editing shown at this test screening was likely completed before the verdict was read.
Perhaps the most tongue-in-cheek element of the Heard situation is how Warner Bros. handled the allegations against Depp. No sooner had Heard made public her allegations of abuse against her ex-husband than Depp was removed from his role as Grindlewald in the film Fantastic Beasts Franchise.
After those claims were found false in court, the studio seems unwilling to take action against the actress amid allegations that Heard even molested Depp. There’s no telling if the legendary actor has a chance to reprise his role in the Harry Potter spin-off, but that seems unlikely as the future of this series is up in the air.
With many promising to boycott the sequel for Heard’s recording, it will be interesting to see how the move affects box office performance, or if the protest will even survive the nine-month wait before the film’s release. Anyhow, audiences shouldn’t be surprised when Mera plays a minimal role in marketing and Heard is absent from the interview circuit.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom isn’t scheduled to hit theaters until March 17, 2023, giving Warner Bros. plenty of time to respond to the Heard situation.