With the arrival of Marvel’s James Gunn as the new co-head of the DC Universe, it seems the studio is going through some major changes and developments. The Jason Momoa solo superhero movie Aquaman was a major turning point for the DC Universe, and it became the highest-grossing DC film overseas, earning around $649.3 million. Although a sequel to the film is in the works, things haven’t gone smoothly since lead actress Amber Heard’s legal dispute with Johny Depp. Let’s see what the new road bump is that it has encountered.
Aquaman is the story of Arthus Curry, who is the human-born heir to the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, goes on the quest to prevent a war between the worlds of oceans and land. The sequel of the movie has been titled as Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and there were rumours that the cameo of Ben Affleck’s Batman will be extended as he was called back for reshoots and Amber’s role was minimised after the fans’ demand.
Recently, at the test screening of the film, all the rumours and theories got debunked as there was no Ben Affleck in it and neither was William Defoe’s Vulko, as tweeted by the Twitter page The DC Syndicate. Although the movie that was screened was an older version, the main characters will sadly not undergo any significant changes.
Amber Heard played the role of Mera, who is the love interest of Arthur Curry and becomes his wife later on in the comics, and according to speculations, there were rumours that scenes are barely there or her character might also be removed from the film post losing the trial against Depp. Amber’s scenes and role were, however, fully intact and included in the screening just as much as the other significant characters. Due to a pronounced pro-Amber and anti-Amber divide on the internet, this significant revelation has greatly angered her fans. Upon finding it out, fans started expressing their unhappiness with the development.
One fan wrote, “How can they leave Amber Heard did they not legally acknowledge the petition to remove her during the trial and after. Disappointed DC“, another one said, “Bruh, what’s the point of bringing back Affleck to film a scene for the movie if they aren’t gonna use it. They know the the fans want to see Affleck return. No Vulko is also a L”. There were comments like, “Mera either needs to be removed or recasted. I have no intention on viewing it till 1 of these 2 things happen.” One fan remarked, “Not surprised DC kept Mera in they like keeping issue actresses/actors hired. And why did Affleck film a thing for it if not in it.”
The movie has been planned to premiere in December of next year, but there is still hope because the test screenings are not often the final goods that make it to the theatres, and a lot may change in between.
