Amber Heard has broken her silence about returning to the role of Mera in the Aquaman sequel. The actress, 37, said she was ‘honored’ to be coming back to the DC Extended Universe, but admitted that there was a ‘ton of pressure.’ Comparing it to her latest film, In the Fire, Amber told Deadline: ‘These are very different kinds of projects representing two very different ends of the spectrum in my industry. There’s a ton of pressure on these big franchise movies, with millions and millions of dollars at stake, and compromises are part of trying to make it the most successful thing it can be.’
She added: ‘The best luck you can have as an actor is to be able to balance both. Aquaman, that franchise and the machinery behind it, I’m very honored, honored to be a part of that. And then there are these small passion projects like In The Fire, where I’m proud to have gotten to know the filmmaker and the cast, and we got dirty together, to breathe life into this story. There’s something cool about that, and I think success is an actor who is able to have both those things.’ Amber starred in the first Aquaman film in 2018, but her return in the sequel has been controversial after she accused her ex-husband Johnny Depp of abuse.
A petition was set up by the Pirates Of The Caribbean actor’s fans demanding her part be recast, accusing her of a ‘systematic crusade to ruin Depp in Hollywood.’ Johnny was dropped from the Fantastic Beasts franchise, after he lost his case against News Group Newspapers for calling him a ‘wife-beater,’ which a judge ruled was ‘substantially true.’ The petition garnered millions of signatures, but Amber dismissed it, telling Entertainment Weekly: ‘Paid rumors and paid campaigns on social media don’t dictate [casting decisions] because they have no basis in reality.’
However, during Amber and Johnny’s highly-publicized court case last year, Amber testified that she ‘fought really hard to stay in the movie’ but that ‘they didn’t want to include me in the film’ and only shot a ‘very pared-down version’ of her part. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom stars Jason Momoa as the titular hero, as well as Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, Dolph Lundgren, Nicole Kidman, Yahya Abdul Mateen II, and Temuera Morrison and is slated for release in December.
