Amber Heard Being Courted To Join The Marvel Universe?
Amber Heard plays Mera for DC. Is she about to join Marvel, too?
This article is more than 2 years old
As an actress, Amber Heard has a home with DC. She’s appeared alongside Jason Momoa in Aquaman and Justice League (both cuts) as Mera. Currently, she is set to play Mera again in DC’s Aquaman 2, and despite early rumors that she may be cut from the film or only be given a few lines, it sounds like she is all set to be a leading character when the movie begins filming this summer. Despite petitions demanding she be fired from DC projects, the studio has stood firmly behind her. Now, after all this time, is she about to jump to DC’s biggest rival?
According to insider Daniel Richtman, Marvel studios is “seriously considering” hiring Amber Heard. He does not say what role Heard might play, what movies she might appear in, or what prompted Marvel to think this was something they would like to do. These would all be interesting things fans would want to know. Did they throw this idea around because they had a specific role in mind? Did one of the executives find themselves inspired by a performance of hers? It’s hard to imagine the inspiration for this idea.
It would be unusual for Amber Heard to be in both franchises. We don’t often see actors play in both Marvel and DC movies, despite how many actors there are in both franchises. For the most part, studios don’t want to further confuse the casual watcher of superhero movies. While die-hard fans will always be able to tell you that Batman is DC and Thor is Marvel, there are plenty of audience members who pop into the movies but can’t tell you who Thanos is, let alone whether he’s DC or Marvel. Many of these audience members may remember faces though, so if they’re going to use an actor from the rival franchise, it’s going to be a rare exception, and hopefully, the character will look very different.
Amber Heard is set to work on Aquaman 2 soon, so she is appearing in DC movies still. Why would they seek out Heard to be a new star for Marvel? Moreover, at this time, Heard is possibly more well-known for her past relationship with Johnny Depp, and the ongoing legal battles, than she is as an actress. Marvel, which is owned by Disney, likes to keep their brand as controversy-free as it can.
Johnny Depp is not going to be appearing in any more of Disney’s Pirates films, a franchise that grew around a character he is largely responsible for. It’s believed this decision was heavily influenced by Depp’s personal life, a personal life that heavily involved Amber Heard.
At this point, Daniel Richtman is only claiming that Marvel is “seriously considering” the actress, but it’s such a strange idea that the studio would seek her out in light of how controversial that decision would be. Controversial because of the backlash surrounding audience reactions to the legal fight between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, but also because DC and Marvel are rivals. While the rivalry between superhero franchises may be more fun, it also draws more attention to the way audiences are split when it comes to Heard at this time.
Does it seem likely we’ll see Amber Heard in a Marvel movie any time soon? No. But that hardly means it won’t happen, either. Stranger things have happened, and who knows what Marvel may be seeing that we don’t. If they are interested enough to give Amber Heard a call, it will be interesting to see what movie they’re envisioning for the actress, and how audiences will react.
