Amber Heard talks Mera on Aquaman and differences from Justice League

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Although Warner Bros. still seems a little uncertain as to where they want to take their DC Universe, I'm still pumped about several of their upcoming DC films, including AQUAMAN.  We got our first taste of the realm of Atlantis in JUSTICE LEAGUE last year, which included an introduction to Mera, a powerful Atlantean warrior played by Amber Heard. The actress spoke with Entertainment Weekly recently to chat about her role in the upcoming James Wan film and to tease how Mera has evolved since her appearance in JUSTICE LEAGUE.

"It’s interesting to see how different filmmakers approach the same characters," Heard said. "We got to meet Mera in an introduction and I think Zack’s approach highlighted what you would want to highlight if you were just meeting her as a commanding warrior." The actress went on to say that while JUSTICE LEAGUE focused merely on her militaristic side, we'll get to dive much deeper into her character in AQUAMAN.

In Aquaman we have a fuller picture, not just her as Mera of Atlantis but also see her struggle in the surface world in civilian clothes. One of my favorite scenes is her first time on the surface world and she’s forced to dress as a normal human. We wanted to honor the comic books, I wanted to stick with how she’s depicted in the comic books in a superficial way, I wanted to go full comic book as to how she looks, but it’s in the nuance of her personality where I wanted to push the boundaries… We had time to fully flesh out her character. Jason becomes more Atlantean more super and mine becomes more human."

Unlike Aquaman (Jason Momoa), Mera isn't overly fond of the surface world. "She has a natural antagonistic view of the surface world which you can understand if you look at the condition of the oceans today, how somebody living in the ocean world would feel that way," Heard said. I'm pumped to see what Amber Heard will bring to AQUAMAN, and she spoke about what first drew her to the role when Zack Snyder approached her about it.

That Mera has her own name. Before I decided to take on this role I read a couple of the comic books and I was struck by how Mera was introduced. She comes into this one scene in the first comic I read where Arthur (Jason Momoa) is attempting to save the town from a flood and she helps him. She has an equal part in saving this village. And these civilians turn to each other and say, “Who is that? Is that Aquawoman?” And she says something to the effect of, “No, I have my own name, my name is Mera.” That resonated with me as somebody who’s always been allergic to being the damsel, the two-dimensional archetype of what women are often limited to in this industry — especially in the superhero world. So when I spoke to [Justice League director Zack Snyder] he got me at “warrior queen.” He said, “You get a sword and a crown” and I’m like, “Okay, you know how to play to your audience.”

AQUAMAN will hit theaters on December 21, 2018, and we'll finally get our first look at the trailer when it debuts at San Diego Comic-Con next month.