Despite what Hollywood has tried to make us believe ever since the advent of the talking picture, not every major cinema release requires a love story to succeed. There are countless all-time greats that don’t feature even the slightest hint of romance, but for some reason, the superhero genre in particular often introduces will they/won’t they subplots that contribute nothing in the grand scheme of things.
In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Natalie Portman and Rachel McAdams were both completely wasted in their respective roles as Jane Foster and Christine Palmer, something that will hopefully be remedied now that they’re returning to the fold. Meanwhile, the dynamic between Black Widow and the Hulk divided fans before being abruptly dropped, while Wonder Woman 1984‘s rekindling of the love affair between Diana Prince and Steve Trevor ended up making people feel a little queasy once they thought about it.
As the ninth highest-grossing superhero movie ever made, Aquaman succeeded in spite of the half-baked interactions between Jason Momoa’s Arthur Curry and Amber Heard’s Mera, with the two generating very little chemistry or sparks to convince audiences that they’d be an ideal pairing to rule as Atlantis’ new power couple.
However, we’ve now heard from our sources – the same ones who told us Ben Affleck would be back as Batman in The Flash long before it was confirmed – that Aquaman 2 is going to increase the emotional stakes by introducing a love triangle, with the unnamed secondary female lead set to complete the triptych. Further details are unclear at the moment, but with Heard continuing to generate controversy by merely existing, fans will no doubt be pleased if someone else arrives on the scene to steal the title hero’s heart away.