What If Emilia Clarke Replaced Amber Heard In Aquaman 2? New Fan Art Explores The Possibility

Amber Heard and Emilia Clarke side by side
(Image credit: Warner Bros/HBO)

The DC Universe has had plenty of twists and turns during the years, especially related to its leadership. James Gunn and Peter Safran were recently named co-CEOs of the studio, and are making sweeping changes to the shared universe. But there were a few upcoming DC movies filmed before this leadership changed, including James Wan’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. That movie is getting close to release, although some fans have signed a petition for Amber Heard to be fired as Mera. So what if Emilia Clarke replaced her in Aquaman 2? New fan art has explored this possibility.

The petition to see Amber Heard removed from the DCU happened right after Johnny Depp was fired from the role of Grindelwald in the Fantatic Beasts franchise. Despite Aquaman 2 already being filmed, fans wanted to see her removed and replaced thanks to VFX and reshoots. Game of Thrones alum Emilia Clarke has been a popular choice to take the mantle of Mera, and now we can see what she’d look like courtesy of fan art on Instagram. Check it out below:

Move over, Daenerys Targaryen and hello to Mera. Emilia Clarke looks pretty awesome in this fan art, even using the DC character’s signature aquatic powers in the process. And while it’s too late for Clarke to replace Heard in Aquaman 2, we’ll have to see what the future of the character might be in the new DC Universe.

The fan art above comes to us from the Instagram of digital artist Diego Oliveira, who has a few thousand followers thanks to his work. Aside from how awesome Emilia Clarke looks as this aquatic DC hero, the post is also cool because he offers a look at how he digitally imposed her face into the image. And the finished product is pretty damn convincing.

Not much is known about the contents of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, despite how it’s just a few months away from arriving in theaters. We’ve yet to be given a trailer for the DC blockbuster, which would no doubt help increase anticipation. This has led some fans to wonder if Warner Bros. might end up delaying Aquaman 2’s release yet again.

While Amber Heard is expected to appear in Aquaman 2, there are some rumors swirling about her role. Specifically that Mera might not be in the movie nearly as much as its predecessor. Whether this is related to her legal battle with ex-husband Johnny Depp remains unclear, but hopefully some concrete information comes sooner rather than later.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is currently expected to arrive in theaters on December 20th. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.