Amber Heard still playing Mera in Aquaman 2 despite Emilia Clarke rumors

[jwplayer jIesgtA7]Amber Heard is still expecting to return as Atlantean queen Mera in Aquaman 2 when the DC sequel begins shooting in late 2021, despite rumors she had been replaced by Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke due to being embroiled in a highly-public $50m legal battle with ex-husband Johnny Depp.

Depp and Heard have been locked in a brutal legal battle for months, with Heard accused of defaming her ex-husband. That apparently won’t have any effect on her return as Mera in Aquaman 2; she still expects to play a major co-starring role in the planned 2022 DCEU sequel.

Heard confirmed she will still return as the Atlantean queen after Depp requested a postponement of the suit from January until March-June. He requested the delay due to his schedule for Harry Potter franchise flick Fantastic Beasts 3.

According to Deadline, Heard will only agree to Depp’s proposed delay as long as it “would not entail any prejudice to her, much less unfair prejudice”. She expects to be shooting the upcoming Aquaman sequel in mid-2021, the star revealed.

Heard first appeared as Mera in Aquaman’s first outing back in 2018. She appeared alongside Jason Mamoa, who played the titular superhero. The DC movie raked in more than $1 billion worldwide, and earned itself a 2022 follow-up.

Question marks have surrounded 34-year-old’s return in the sequel since the ongoing defamation case first began. DC fans have even collected more than 500,000 signatures on a Change.org petition demanding Warners Bros “remove Amber Heard from Aquaman 2 immediately.”

Emilia Clarke rumored to take Mera role

Rumors began rumbling behind the scenes recently that Heard had indeed been ousted, and Mamoa’s Game of Thrones co-star Emilia Clarke had replaced her. This latest Heard court request seems to crush those Clarke rumors, however.

• Read more: Joseph Gordon-Levitt responds to Batman spin-off rumors

Clarke does appear to have a clear slate for next year. The Thrones star was set to appear in West End production ‘The Seagull,’ but the play was suspended in March. Neither Clarke nor Warners Bros have publicly commented on the rumors.

Aquaman 2 release date remains unchanged

While we may not know exactly who will be playing Mera, plenty of other information on the highly-anticipated Aquaman follow-up has already been revealed in the past few months.

• Read more: The Mandalorian Season 2 release date officially announced

James Wan is back on board to direct the sequel, and Patrick Wilson will indeed return as villain Oceanmaster. Wan has promised Aquaman 2 will have “a few more horror elements” similar to the Trench sequence from the original.

Aquaman 2 is currently penciled in to be released on December 16, 2022, in time for the holiday season. Production is slated to begin in mid-2021.