With Amber Heard set to reprise her role as Mera in James Wan’s upcoming Aquaman film, the 32-year-old actor has explained that Mera’s independence and strength make her great and promised that her character isn’t Aquawoman.
“Mera’s her own woman,” Heard told JoBlo. “She’s her own superhero. She’s not Aquawoman. She’s Mera… [W]hat really sold me on this project, I was doing my research and was reading the graphic novels, and in one of the first ones I read, there’s a scene, some natural disaster in open water, a tsunami hits on the land, and of course Aquaman comes in and saves the day and civilians are like, ‘Oh my god, it’s Aquaman!’ And they turn to Mera, who has done equal work in saving this village, and they’re like, ‘Who are you? Are you Aquawoman?’ And she’s like, ‘No, I’m not Aquawoman. I’m Mera, I have my own name.’ And I was like, I like this. I like this woman.”
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“I respect it as a character, I respect it as a person,” she continued. “I also respect it as the average modern woman, who is sick and tired of seeing the same old, two-dimensional, reactionary, passive roles that are limited to being rescued or enchanting the male protagonist. I feel I have a lot more to offer in life and I’m bored with those characters when I watch them.”
Heard debuted as Mera in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, though she was only on screen for a few minutes. Aquaman will see her playing a much larger role in the DC Extended Universe.
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An early screening of Aquaman met with positive reactions in February. However, fans should keep in mind that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad and Justice League were all well-received at their test screenings as well, only to be critically-panned later.
Arriving Dec. 21, Aquaman stars Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Amber Heard as Mera, Patrick Wilson as Ocean Master, Willem Dafoe as Nuidis Vulko, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta, Temuera Morrison as Thomas Curry and Dolph Lundgren as Nereus.