Amber Heard, who has played Jason Momoa's love interest, Mera, in the DC Extended Universe since 2017's "Justice League," appears once or twice in the trailer for "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom."
Given Heard's testimony in her defamation trial with Depp, we're not surprised that her role in "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" is so small. She had to fight to stay in the film and the studio did not want to include her.
She was given a new script that had removed action scenes between her character and another character. She said that they "basically took a bunch out" of her role. Director James Wan told Entertainment Weekly that the sequel was always going to be about Arthur Curry and Orm's troubled relationship.
Wan's "bromance action-adventure" sequel promises to be a more testosterone-fueled affair, with less focus on the romantic tangles of the first film. Heard's absence from Arthur's declaration of marital bliss in the trailer's opening frames hints at a more complicated role for Mera in the sequel.
For fans who have been following the "Aquaman" saga since Arthur Curry's debut, it is natural to assume that Mera is his wife. And they would be correct. While the trailer does not make it abundantly clear, the film's official synopsis confirms that Mera is Atlantis' Queen and the mother of the heir to the throne.
The trailer shows Aquaman raising his son alone with his father on land, with no scenes of Mera with Arthur or their child. There is a brief glimpse of a red-haired woman from afar who may be Mera, but it is unclear. A late shot in the trailer shows Mera trapped underwater.
According to entertainment journalists Grace Randolph and Umberto Gonzalez, Heard's screen time in "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" is reportedly between 10 and 20 minutes. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will swim into theatres on December 20.