Emilia Clarke has replaced Amber Heard as Mera from Aquaman in a stunning image.
Heard starred as Mera in the DC franchise, debuting as the character in 2017’s Justice League.
She would then appear in the first Aquaman film alongside Jason Momoa and its sequel – Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
The first film, which came out in 2018, was a box office success and grossed a staggering $1.1 billion worldwide while receiving largely positive reviews.
The Zombieland star would describe her character as ’empowered’ and ‘proactive’ in an interview with Elle.
The actress added: “That seems like a low bar to set… but let’s face it, in the entertainment industry there’s such a dearth of representation, I think it’s worth saying.”
In the DC Universe, a huge takeover has happened and a lot is changing – James Gunn, the director of the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, and film producer Peter Safran are overseeing its future.
Addressing the DC fandom, Gunn has taken to X (formerly Twitter) and said: “We know we are not going to make every single person happy every step of the way, but we can promise everything we do is done in the service of the STORY and in the service of the DC CHARACTERS we know you cherish and we have cherished our whole lives.
“As for more answers about the future of the DCU, I will sadly have to ask you to wait. We are giving these characters and the stories the time and attention they deserve, and we ourselves still have a lot more questions to ask and answer.”
The first major change was the removal of Henry Cavill as Superman, who is a fan favourite with many.
He’s been replaced by American actor David Corenswet, who appeared in the horror film Pearl.
Gunn and Safran have also revealed that they’re envisioning a DC universe in which lesser-known characters are given a chance in the spotlight.
“One of our strategies is to take our diamond characters — which is Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman — and we use them to prop up other characters that people don’t know,” Gunn told The Hollywood Reporter.
Safran added: “To build those lesser known properties into the diamond properties of tomorrow.”
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was shot before the reinvention of DC, so the film was still released – and Heard returned to her role as Mera.
However, a lot of fans were not happy about this.
In 2022, Heard was embroiled in a highly publicised defamation trial against her ex-husband, Johnny Depp.
It would result in the 37-year-old being cruelly trolled on social media.
During the trial, the actress alleged that studio executives at Warner Bros. didn’t want to ‘include’ her in the sequel due to her ongoing drama with her former spouse.
“I was given a script and then given new versions of the script that had taken away scenes that had action in it… and they basically took a bunch out of my role,” Heard claimed, via Business Insider.
This accusation was dismissed by then-DC boss Walter Hamada, who said that her role being minimised had nothing to do with Depp.
During his testimony, he said: “I think editorially they were able to make that relationship work in the first movie.
“But there was a concern that it took a lot of effort to get there and that would we be better off finding someone with more natural chemistry with Jason Momoa and move forward that way.”
This isn’t the only information that has surfaced regarding Heard’s relationship with Momoa on the Aquaman set.
In 2023, Variety reported that documents from Heard’s therapist had been released.
They alleged that Momoa would show up on set drunk, ‘dressing like Johnny‘ and that he tried to get her dropped from the movie.
However, this claim was rebuffed by a DC spokesperson, who said: “Jason Momoa conducted himself in a professional manner at all times on the set of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.”
Amid the reports and controversy surrounding the film, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom hit theatres in December 2023.
While it received modest reviews, it only made $434 million at the box office – over $500 million less than the first movie grossed.
Heard did return as Mera but only had a short amount of screen time.
Prior to the sequel’s release, fans were rooting for someone else to star as Mera in the movie.
A petition was launched to have Blake Lively replace Heard and it garnered over 17,000 signatures.
But the favourite for the role was actually someone who has a history with Momoa – and thanks to designer Diego de Sousa, people have gotten a good idea of how she’d look in the role.
“I’m here for it,” comments one person.
Another adds: “For sure she is a better Mera than Amber Heard.”
Fans suggested Emilia Clarke, who starred opposite Momoa in Game Of Thrones.
Following the box-office performance of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and Gunn’s takeover of DC studios, it’s looking unlikely there will be a third Aquaman film.
Momoa hasn’t ruled out playing the King of Atlantis again but understands that it isn’t up to him.
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, the Dune star said: “I don’t necessarily want it to be the end, [but] I don’t think it’s really, like, a choice.
“The truth of it is, I mean, if the audience loves it, then there’s a possibility. But right now, I’m like, ‘It’s not looking too good’.”
