Amber Heard Wants To Play This Marvel Superhero
Even though Amber Heard is a major female presence in the DC universe, a new rumor suggests Heard would also like to play a big role for Marvel as well.
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Amber Heard has already made a name for herself in the world of superhero films, playing Mera in Justice League and 2018’s Aquaman. The actress is currently one of the few female superheroes in the DC movie universe, and there are even rumors that DC might expand Mera’s importance in this world. Yet a new rumor suggests that Heard might have her eye on another superhero role, this time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
We Got This Covered is reporting a rumor from entertainment gossip writer Daniel Richtman that says Amber Heard wants to play the Fantastic Four’s Sue Storm in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, even saying that Heard has had discussions with Kevin Feige. While it’s not clear who Richtman’s sources are on this news it does seem like somewhat of a stretch.
As of right now, Amber Heard is a rare female hero for DC, one that they likely want to stay exclusive to DC. Beyond the aforementioned possible spinoff focused on Mera, the character also looks like she might be a larger part in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, which is coming in 2021, and she will supposedly have a bigger role in the upcoming Aquaman 2. With Mera growing as a part of this DC Universe, it would seem like Heard wouldn’t even have time to do double duty.
However, it’s not quite clear as of yet what Marvel’s plan is for the Fantastic Four joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Even if their reveal is still years away, it seems as though Amber Heard would still be obligated to play Mera for DC.
Rumors that the Fantastic Four might be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe started in earnest with the casting of Lovecraft Country’s Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conquerer in Ant-Man 3. The character is a possible descendant of the Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards, which could be a way for the superhero team, including possibly Amber Heard as Sue Storm, to work their way into the Marvel world. While Ant-Man 3 is supposed to start filming in 2021, with a possible 2022 release, there is currently no release date planned for the upcoming Peyton Reed-directed film.
Yet theoretically, having Amber Heard play both a major part of the DC Universe and the Marvel Cinematic Universe doesn’t make much sense from a logistical standpoint. No other actor has played central parts in both franchises at the same time. Actors like Ryan Reynolds and Ben Affleck have played superhero characters for both DC and Marvel, but both parts were split by a number of years. It’s unclear what DC’s plans for Mera are beyond Aquaman 2, but it certainly doesn’t seem like a character DC would kill off or recast.
While saying that Amber Heard has had discussions with Kevin Feige about the part, it also goes without saying that Feige has likely discussed joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe with almost every major star in Hollywood. While there have been many rumors about who will play the Fantastic Four in this new iteration, one of the prominent theories has been that Disney wants John Krasinski as Reed Richards, with Krasinski’s wife Emily Blunt as Sue Storm. Blunt already has a strong reputation with Disney, working with the studio for Mary Poppins Returns and the upcoming Jungle Cruise, and Blunt did call the fan casting of her as Sue Storm flattering.
If Amber Heard did play Sue Storm in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, she would be the third actress so far to take on the Invisible Woman. Jessica Alba played the character in 2005’s Fantastic Four and 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, while Kate Mara played Storm in the 2015 reboot Fantastic Four. Recently, 2015’s Fantastic Four director Josh Trank has said that the studio pushed back against him wanting to cast a black actress as Sue Storm.
It seems extremely unlikely that DC would want Amber Heard to play a Marvel character, nor does it seem like Marvel would want an actress to play a major new character when they’re already contractually obligated to DC. Even beyond the amount of time and work it would take to play such an important character in both worlds, it also doesn’t seem even possible to balance both characters. Heard will be next been on the CBS All Access miniseries The Stand, which debuts on December 17, 2020.
