The future of Aquaman actress Amber Heard in the DC Extended Universe has been the subject of numerous rumors and contradictory reports, so be wary of what you read or hear. Contrary to earlier rumors, Heard is still a part of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and the upcoming sequel will not recast her in the role of Mera. Heard’s team swiftly issued a statement denying the rumors.
Both Variety and The Independent were informed by an actress’s representative that, “The rumor mill continues as it has from day one is inaccurate, insensitive and slightly insane.” This claim comes just after the final verdict of the lawsuit between Heard and Johnny Depp. Heard’s first public interview since the trial also occurs the same week. Warner Brothers has not yet made an official statement about the situation.
Currently scheduled for release on March 17, 2023, Aquaman 2 is well into post-production. Because of this, it was strange that WB would replace Heard so late in the contest. The James Wan movie has already experienced one delay, but it has been shot entirely. Prior to being delayed until March of the next year to ease the post-production crunch, it was scheduled to debut in December of this year. It wouldn’t be as easy as swapping just a few dialogue scenes even if Heard were to be recast.
Like Aquaman himself, the character has a lot of rigging and wire work. The franchise heavily emphasises underwater combat, and the first time around, Mera worked on nearly all of the major action set pieces. According to Walter Hamada, the head of DC Films, WB had previously thought about recasting the actress and Heard herself wasn’t sure if she would be in the finished product. When Heard’s recasting was first announced, Just Jared claimed to have an inside source who said, “Warner Bros. decided to recast Amber Heard’s role after screentesting the movie. They are going to be doing reshoots with Jason Momoa and Nicole Kidman.”