“There was no saving the DCEU”: James Gunn, Not Amber Heard, is Getting the Blame for Aquaman 2 Taking a Hype Dive

Amber Heard isn’t the reason behind Aquaman 2 failing to generate hype ahead of its release.

Arthur Curry is returning to the big screen with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. In an ideal world, the 15th and final installment of the DC Extended Universe as well as the sequel to the franchise’s highest-grossing movie, Aquaman (2018), should be dominating the headlines. However, the movie has failed to trend on social media despite being just two days away from its release.

James Gunn. Credit: Gage Skidmore.

However, such has been the franchise’s performance ever since James Gunn took over the reins at DC Studios that there’s absolutely no hype for the Jason Momoa starrer. And many fans believe it has nothing to do with Amber Heard’s inclusion in the project.

Why Amber Heard Shouldn’t Be Blamed for Aquaman 2’s Low Hype

In Aquaman (2018), Amber Heard portrayed Mera, an assassin and princess of the Atlantena rival kingdom. She falls in love with Jason Momoa’s Aquaman and helps him in his fight against power-hungry King Orm.

Amber Heard and Jason Momoa.

However, many fans were against her return in the sequel due to her highly-publicized and controversial trial against her former husband Johnny Depp. Interestingly, DC Studios minimized Heard’s role in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, trimming her appearances and screen time in the film’s posters as well as trailers.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, director James Wan suggested the development regarding Heard’s role had nothing to do with public outcry and was instead always part of the creative approach.

“I always pitched this to everyone from the get-go. The first Aquaman was Arthur and Mera’s journey,” Wan said. “The second movie was always going to be Arthur and Orm. So the first was a romance action-adventure movie, the second one is a bromance action-adventure movie. We’ll leave it at that.”

Regardless of intentions, DC Studios managed to calm down fans who were against Heard’s involvement. Still, Aquaman 2 has not managed to generate any substantial hype.

How James Gunn’s DCU Plans Broke Momentum for DCEU Movies

Even the box office projections spell a worrying fate for the movie. According to Deadline, the superhero action fantasy is expected to make around $40 million+ over the four-day Christmas weekend. This would be a lower gross than MCU’s biggest flop The Marvels’ three-day opening weekend collection of $46.1 million.

James Gunn.

The reason behind such predictions and underwhelming hype seems to be more nuanced, with many fans pointing fingers at James Gunn‘s strategy for the DCU.

The reboot announcement played the biggest factor in the 2023 DCEU performance.You can’t convince me otherwise. https://t.co/YU7kgmUSkP— The Moonlight Warrior 🌙 (@BlackMajikMan90) December 19, 2023

Look at the Box office performance of the DC films prior.There was no saving the DCEU.I had hoped fans would have given it a chance, but the damage was done.The announcement didn’t help. I will agree. But even if it didn’t happen… the movies would have done just as…— Slav (@SlavsFreeTalk) December 19, 2023

Definitely was the nail in the coffin for a universe (DCEU) that was already losing the last bit of confidence from the general audience.Just told them that there’s no real reason to stay invested in these characters and stories because they’re going nowhere.— The Wealth Dad (@thewealthdad) December 19, 2023

I think this is pretty common knowledge. Everyone knew they were rebooting and the releases this year wouldn’t tie into the new universe, so no one felt the need to go see them— Eli Hitchcock (@eli_hitchcock3) December 19, 2023

I’m surprised that everyone seems so surprised about this. Seems like the logical course of things given the reboot.— The Bills Guru (@RobReviewsIt) December 19, 2023

In January of 2023, Gunn and his creative partner Peter Safran announced plans for 10 films and television series under the new DC banner, confirming new projects will fall under Chapter 1, titled Gods and Monsters, of DCU.

The idea of a reboot with new storylines and new characters under the creative leadership of Gunn, who is directing the new era’s first film Superman: Legacy, sucked all the air out of the hype balloon for the releases of remaining DCEU movies, including the high-profile The Flash.

It made little sense for many fans to catch a story without knowing if it would have any place or impact in Gunn’s shared universe or not.