One of the great things about the explosion of superhero movies over the last decade or so is that comparatively lower profile characters are finally getting a chance to shine. Sure, a movie starring Batman or the X-Men has always been a relatively easy sell, but if you’d mentioned Black Panther to a non-comics reader in 2007, they probably would’ve thought you were making a political statement! Though that landscape has been dominated by Marvel, DC is finally starting to gain a foothold. And while the critical response to their films has been decidedly mixed, the burgeoning library of DC films has introduced mainstream audiences to the likes of Cyborg, Deadshot, and more.
Among the DC characters making their mainstream debuts in the near future is Mera, who audiences met briefly in ‘Justice League’ and to whom they will be properly introduced in this year’s ‘Aquaman’. Who is Mera and what sets this version apart from prior incarnations? Actress Amber Heard addressed exactly that question when speaking with ComicBook.com in the course of a set visit. Heard described her character thusly:
“Mera’s her own woman. She’s her own superhero. She’s not Aquawoman. She’s Mera. Part of what got me, you know when I first talked to Zack [Snyder] on the phone about the prospect of doing this film, he said, “She’s a warrior queen. Basically, you get a sword and a crown.” And I was like, “Okay, you know how to pitch to your audience.”
“Mera is strongly tied to – she has a strong sense of duty and responsibility that’s tied to Atlantis and her role in Atlantis. She deeply cares about her position that she believes she was not just born to do, that she has worked her whole life to be able to do well. It’s not enough just to have inherited this position. Her sense of honor and duty is inartistically tied to her place in leading Atlantis and doing the right thing for her people.”
In addition to hinting at her characterization, Heard also described Mera’s power set:
“So I control water. Mera’s power, other than just being a warrior princess in Atlantis, is that she can also control water, a power that becomes quite handy as you will see. Not only in this scene, but it plays throughout the mission, throughout their entire journey. She relies on hydrokinesis to kind of save the world and stuff.”
The next installment in the DC Extended Universe, ‘Aquaman’ has been helmed by director James Wan and stars Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Temuera Morrison, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Patrick Wilson, and Nicole Kidman. The film is scheduled to arrive in theaters on December 21, 2018.
