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Filming ceased 4 months ago.
By Isaac Serna-Diez — Written on May 23, 2022
Johnny Depp fans are continuing to unleash their wrath against actress Amber Heard as Depp’s defamation trial against his ex-wife continues.
Heard and Depp's film careers have both been overshadowed by the domestic violence accusations they have made against one another and some fans are seeking to ensure that continues.
Fans have launched a petition against Amber Heard to get her replaced in the Aquaman sequel.
“Amber Heard has been exposed as a domestic abuser by Johnny Depp,” reads the Change.org petition that has received over 4.3 million signatures since its creation over a year ago.
The idea is that through enough signatures and revelations in the case, Warner Brothers, the studio behind Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, will either recast Heard’s role or reduce her appearance in the movie to a minimum.
Since filming began in late June of 2021, many believed that Warner Brothers had ample opportunity to recast the role of Mera, whom Heard was cast in, and give it to someone else.
Fans discussed who they would want to see in the role of Mera the most, and settled on some of the biggest names for the genre.
Emilia Clarke had a huge push behind her as many believed that her role as the Khaleesi, Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones would help her play Mera in the new Aquaman movie.
Clarke acted alongside Jason Momoa, who played Khal Drogo for many of the Game of Thrones seasons and plays Aquaman in the movie — something that fans believed would provide the sequel with much-needed on-screen chemistry between the characters in question.
Heard’s agent revealed that Heard and Momoa lacked chemistry and that it would result in a reduced role for the actress, but fans want them to just scrap her from the movie entirely.
Another actress that fans wanted to replace Heard was Blake Lively, who is no stranger to superhero movies.
After her role in the 2011 film Green Lantern, fans considered her the perfect actress to play several other potential superheroes like Invisible Woman and Lady Deadpool alongside her husband who already has a hand in the superhero genre as Deadpool.
Fans vouched for these actresses heavily, going as far as creating concept arts and edits with their faces in place of Heard’s, but it seemed as though it would be all for naught.
“Do not expect anything from them,” wrote one fan under the petition, warning that Warner Bros has a history of not listening to the fans and what they might want.
“As Amber Heard is a known and proven domestic abuser, Warner Brothers and DC Entertainment should and must remove Heard from their Aquaman 2 film project,” reads the petition.
“They must not ignore the suffering of Heard's victims, and must not glamorize a domestic abuser.”
It’s worth noting that this petition is just another example of the ongoing attacks on Heard on social media from Depp fans who wholeheartedly believe in his innocence and her alleged abuse.
Considering that the Aquaman sequel has already finished filming in January of this year, it’s unlikely that Heard will have her role revoked, but fans speculate that she may have a lot of scenes cut from the final product.
The film is set to release in 2023 and is already in the post-production phase.
Isaac Serna-Diez is a writer who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics. Follow him on Twitter here.