That popular petition for Amber Heard to be removed from the upcoming sequel Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom has just reached a major milestone. As the televised trial between Heard and ex-husband Johnny Depp continues, the petition gained some new traction as more and more people became aware of the situation. With word of mouth spreading online, the petition had previously managed to top 1.8 million signatures, and this newfound attention has now pushed it past 2 million total names.

The Change.org petition’s official description recounts many of the details that Depp has alleged about Heard in their ongoing legal battle. This includes the allegation that Heard threw a vodka bottle at him, severing one of his fingertips in the process, among other abuse allegations. The petition also states that Heard had “created false accounts of him being the abuser” as well, severely tarnishing Depp’s image and, according to the former Pirates of the Caribbean star, costing him lucrative movie roles.

More than 2 million people seem to agree with Depp’s version of events, feeling that the evidence presented at trial supports his side of the story. It’s gotten more people feeling that it’s unfair for Heard to keep her role in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom while the same studio, Warner Bros., had asked him to resign from Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. As stated in the petition description, the goal is for Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment to take notice of the petition and either recast or remove Mera from Aquaman 2.

“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. They must not ignore the suffering of Heard’s victims, and must not glamorize a domestic abuser. Men are victims of domestic abuse, just like women. This must be recognized, and action must be taken to prevent a known abuser from being celebrated within the entertainment industry. Do the right thing. Remove Amber Heard from Aquaman 2.”

Related: Johnny Depp, Amber Heard, and the Will Smith Slap: An Analysis

Many Fans Want Emilia Clarke to Replace Amber Heard in Aquaman 2

At one point, many fans were calling for not only Amber Heard to be removed from Aquaman 2, but for Emilia Clarke to replace her. The fan casting seems to stem from Heard’s working relationship with Jason Momoa on Game of Thrones. Fan art has been made of Clarke in the role as the petition continued to grow, but as there were never any real steps made by the filmmakers to cut Heard from the film, no such talks with Clarke actually took place.


Last year, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom producer Peter Safran explained the decision to stand by Heard. Safran said outright that they wouldn’t be changing their creative plans based on “pure fan pressure.” The producer also insisted that what was best for the film was for Heard to return as Mera, and that was the end of the conversation. On explained on the Deadline Hero Nation podcast:

“I don’t think we’re ever going to react to, honestly, pure fan pressure. You gotta do what’s best for the movie. We felt that if it’s James Wan, and Jason Momoa, it should be Amber Heard. That’s really what it was… One is not unaware of what is going on in the Twitter-verse, but that doesn’t mean you have to react to it or take it as gospel or accede to their wishes. You have to do what’s right for the film, and that’s really where we landed on it.”

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom has already wrapped filming, which makes it more unlikely Heard will be removed from the sequel, but reshoots are always a possibility. The movie will be released on Marcy 17, 2023. You can find the petition to have Heard removed from the film at Change.org.

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