Fans shared their reactions to the first footage of Amber Heard as her DCEU character Mera in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
Heard has been mired in controversy for quite some time after the actress was taken to trial for defamation by her former spouse Johnny Depp. This came after she alleged Depp was "verbally and physically abusive" toward her during their marriage - an allegation she was unable to prove in court.
This put her role in the Aquaman sequel into question, with many wondering if her Atlantean would be cut from the film. Well, as time has gone on, it has become more and more clear that would not be the case, but what is surprising is reports revealing her role "[hasn’t been] reduced or shortened at all.”
All this came to a head recently, as a first look of Heard's DC hero was showcased as a part of footage revealed at Cinema Con in Las Vegas.
Fans React to Amber Heard's DC Return
After Amber Heard's Mera appeared in the latest Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom trailer shown off at CinemaCon 2023, fans took to social media to have their thoughts heard amid controversy surrounding the actress.
Most of the reaction saw audiences criticizing the decision to include her, with Twitter users like Dr. Gandalf the Grey admitting that "a brief glimpse [at Mera] is still too much!!"
Totally dumbfounded, @MEHANICH2 pondering why more liked heroes like Henry Cavill's Superman and Ben Affleck's Batman "leave," but Heard gets to stay:
"Affleck and Cavill leave, but she stays?!"
Chonkychez called the move to keep Heard in the film "terrible:"
"Terrible to keep someone who lied about abuse in a movie."
And a number of fans (including @_Esperanza06) even went as far as to say that they will not be watching the movie:
"Welp I guess I’m not watching 'Aquaman'"
Feeling very much the same way, @el_yorch00 shared their hope for the incoming James Gunn DC reboot:
"I'm sorry but I'm not watching this, also Gunn is still rebooting and recasting Aquaman anyway"
@Shellys_Wellie also made it known that they "won't be watching it:"
"and with that i confirm that i wont be watching it"
It was not all negative though, fans like @Lorenzo74209291 wondered what Warner Bros. was supposed to do seeing as they had "already filmed" the Jason Momoa-led blockbuster when the controversy emerged:
"Not that they could do anything about it, they had already filmed"
Xandra was much more positive, calling Heard their "queen:"
"The queen returns"
Sharing a similar sentiment, @cuntrss called the actress "mother" and celebrated her return:
"Don’t give a shit about this movie but we are watching for mother"
And @banter_ko tweeted asking who he needs to "talk to to get that new Amber Mera footage:"
"Who do I need to talk to to get that new Amber Mera footage"
Warner Bros.' Mera Problem
This Amber Heard/Mera conundrum is something Warner Bros. was going to have to tackle no matter what, as the actress' became embroiled in the heated legal battle she ultimately lost with her former partner Johnny Depp.
However, that does not make it any more surprising that her character continues to remain as involved in the Aquaman sequel as she seems to be.
With all the time Aquaman 2 has been granted due to extensive delays, one would think the studio would rework the film to reduce (if not outright remove) Heard's involvement in it.
There had been reports about Warner Bros. "potentially recasting" the role; however, that was all before James Gunn was brought on to retool and reboot the DCU.
Because Gunn is now on board, almost all of these DC characters will be reimagined in some way.
So, Warner sort of built its own 'Get Out of Jail Free' card, never really having to fully address the magnitude of the Amber Heard situation, while also not having to work with the actress past The Lost Kingdom.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom comes to theaters later this year on December 20.
