James Wan, director of Aquaman (2018), has said that the movie’s upcoming sequel was never meant to focus on Amber Heard‘s character, despite her claims to the contrary. Heard starred in Aquaman as Mera, the Atlantean princess and love interest to Jason Momoa’s Aquaman. The role came under heavy criticism last year during Heard’s highly publicized trial against her ex-husband Johnny Depp. During the trial, Heard testified that she “fought really hard” to remain in the Aquaman sequel, but director James Wan has claimed that Aquaman 2 was never meant to focus on Amber Heard, trial or not.
James Wan Says ‘Aquaman 2’ Was Always a ‘Bromance Movie’
Amber Heard, 37, starred in Aquaman as Mera, the daughter of the Atlantean King Nereus. Mera requests half-Atlantean Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa)’s help in uniting Atlantis and reclaiming the throne from Orm, Arthur’s half-brother. Aquaman made sure to highlight Arthur and Mera’s growing connection as they battled their way to Atlantis, but director James Wan says that the sequel was always going to be less “romance” and more “bromance”.
According to James Wan in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Aquaman 2 is going to shift the focus from Arthur and Mera to Arthur and Orm, his half-brother who, when we last left him, was being willfully imprisoned for usurping the Atlantean throne. The Aquaman 2 synopsis, dropped during CinemaCon last year, explains that “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will follow Aquaman and Orm who reluctantly team up to face a stronger Black Manta and his army.” It’s not yet clear how the sequel plans to bury the hatchet between Aquaman and his half-brother, but the director remains certain that this was always his plan.
“I always pitched this to everyone from the get-go,” Wan told EW. “The first Aquaman was Arthur and Mera’s journey. The second movie was always going to be Arthur and 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.”
James Wan’s newest statements contradict Amber Heard’s testimony from May 2022 where, in the midst of her defamation trial against Johnny Depp, Heard claimed that her role in Aquaman 2 had been “greatly reduced”. At the time, Heard told PEOPLE Magazine that she had “fought really hard” to retain her role as Mera even though new scripts for the movie “took a bunch out of [her] role” and gave it other characters. It’s impossible to say for sure whether or not her reduced role predates the trial, but it has been confirmed that Amber Heard will be appearing in the Aquaman sequel in some capacity as part of her three-picture deal with Warner Bros. Productions.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, directed by James Wan and starring Amber Heard, will be released to theaters on December 20th.
