Illustrating the dangers of basing Aquaman on the Joss Whedon continuity, Mera’s background details in the Snyder Cut contradict her established story. It’s no secret that Justice League‘s production was a huge mess for Warner Bros., and almost everyone involved. In fact, thanks to the Snyder Cut movement, the behind the scenes saga of Justice League is now one of the most well-known instances of a troubled production in cinema history. The DCEU may never fully live it down either, despite Warner finally allowing Snyder to release his version.
The problem now for Warner Bros. is that many fans vastly prefer the Snyder Cut, and really, really want to see Snyder continue his vision for the DCEU now. The studio, however, has moved on, and already made several films that treated Whedon’s Justice League theatrical cut as canon. 2018’s Aquaman was the first, and while that solo adventure found acclaim, Aquaman’s characterization is much better in Zack Snyder’s Justice League than it was in Whedon’s, leaving a superhero with a flawed history.
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This issue now extends beyond the core Justice League members, though, including Arthur Curry’s Atlantean comrade and love interest Mera (Amber Heard). There’s a major discrepancy in her backstory when comparing the Snyder Cut and Aquaman, but there are many issues that would make it hard to ever declare the Snyder Cut canon. Her costume is differently colored, she now speaks with a British accent, and most strikingly, she’s an orphan. Mera plainly tells Arthur that his mother Queen Atlanna looked after her after the death of her parents. Yet, in Aquaman, not only is Mera’s father King Nereus (Dolph Lundgren) very much alive, but he plays an important role in the plot, initially siding with King Orm before turning on him.
Many fans liked Nereus in Aquaman, although that could partly be due to Lundgren’s own popularity, as Nereus certainly isn’t the most complex or developed character in the film. Still, it’s odd to find out that, had the Snyder Cut been released in 2017, 2018’s Aquaman movie likely would’ve had no Nereus in play at all – or that scene in Snyder’s film would have needed to be cut in order to maintain continuity with James Wan’s movie. These kind of discrepancies would make it extremely hard to try and smoothly work the Snyder Cut back into DCEU continuity, as many fans of the director wish would happen.
Sure, one could try and say Mera lied to Arthur, but she had absolutely no logical reason to do that. The only other way of solving the problem, while also incorporating the Snyder Cut back into continuity, would be to retroactively remove Nereus from Aquaman, which obviously would damage the film. For better or worse, the Whedon Cut of Justice League will (and needs to) remain Aquaman canon.
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