While it doesn't appear that Warner Bros. will be removing Amber Heard from Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, the latest rumors are that her screen time as Mera will be drastically reduced. In recent weeks, there has been a lot of attention on the trial involving Heard and ex-husband Johnny Depp. Heard was sued for libel with Depp asking for $50 million in damages, while she counter-sued for $100 million.

Unfortunately for Heard, there are millions of people that aren't on her side. A popular petition to have her fired from Aquaman 2 has soared past 2.7 million signatures, and at the rate it's going, it won't be long before it's at the 3 million mark. That's a lot of people that are clearly unhappy about Heard's continued involvement in the film, and that may end up having a significant impact on ticket sales.

While the studio has already wrapped filming, perhaps the compromise was to almost remove Heard from the film. Film scooper Grace Randolph recently reported that Heard has "less than 10 min of screen time in Aquaman 2." There has not been any confirmation of this from Warner Bros., but rearranging the film to cut down on Mera's scenes could be one reason why Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was delayed to 2023, as announced in March.

Related: Aquaman 2: Will Emilia Clarke Replace Amber Heard's Mera?

Petitions Have Called for Warner Bros. to Remove Amber Heard from Aquaman 2

Amber Heard as Mera in Aquaman.
Warner Bros.

There's no doubt that the studio has noticed the popular petition calling for Amber Heard's dismissal from Aquaman 2. Many fans are also calling for the filmmakers to reshoot Mera's scenes with Emilia Clarke in the role, which would reunite her with Game of Thrones co-star Jason Momoa. As the big-budget feature has already wrapped filming, it does not seem very likely that such reshoots will happen, given the costs involved.

If the backlash against Heard continues to mount, things can always change, but Aquaman 2's producers previously stood by Heard by clearly stating they would not be taking her out of the film. Producer Peter Safran said in 2021 that the petitions and social media campaigns were not going to be considered, while also declaring that what was best for the film was that Heard return alongside Momoa and director James Wan. As he said 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 is scheduled to be released in movie theaters on March 17, 2023.