After the revelations of Amber Heard’s abuse that came out in Johnny Depp’s libel trial against a British tabloid newspaper, people have been calling for her role as Mera in Aquaman 2 to be recast. And one popular fan choice, that of Emilia Clarke, now has some new fan art suggesting how she might look in the role.
The image is a creation of digital editor JPH Photoshop, who’s brought us similar images in the worlds of Marvel, DC and Star Wars, such as Sebastian Stan as Captain America, Josh Brolin as Batman, and Tom Welling as Ultraman. The picture in question is a Photoshop of a publicity still of Heard that has her face swapped out with Clarke’s and the shading of the image altered to better match the latter’s paler skin tone.
Of course, Clarke and Aquaman star Jason Momoa have previously appeared on screen together in Game of Thrones, and although Momoa’s time on the series was limited almost entirely to the first season, the development of their characters’ relationship was one of the most compelling arcs of the show’s early days. The pair have since remained close friends, and the chemistry they’ve displayed both on and off screen is largely what makes Clarke such a frequently referenced possibility to take over as the Queen of Atlantis.
As for Heard, despite neither she nor Depp coming away from the trial in the best light, there are currently no official plans to fire her from her role in Aquaman 2, regardless of an increasingly lengthy fan petition. That the result ultimately went against Depp reinforced many people’s belief of Heard’s innocence, not to mention she always had the advantage in the situation on account of her being a woman and preposterously hot. However, if for some reason Warner Bros. change their minds and decide to remove her, putting Emilia Clarke into the verdant catsuit would be a popular choice.