Well this has certainly been an odd story.
A few days ago, we reported on rumors that Gal Gadot was refusing to sign on to the upcoming ‘Wonder Woman’ sequel unless RatPac-Dune – the production company founded and co-founded and part-owned by Brett Ratner – was removed from the project. This alleged demand came following a wave of sexual misconduct accusations that had been leveled against Ratner earlier this month. Gadot was widely praised for this stance, though the story took a turn when Warner Bros. issued their response to the matter. The studio stated, simply, “It’s false.”
While Warner’s denial was nothing if not to the point, it nonetheless raised its share of questions Was it false that Gadot had threatened to walk? Had she never made the request in the first place? Was the denial simply an exercise in studio politics? Well, thankfully we now have some further clarification, this time from Gadot herself. During an appearance on NBC’s ‘Today’, the actress was asked about the matter and offered the following reply:
“The truth is, there’s so many people involved in making this movie, it’s not just me, and they all echoed the same sentiments. Everyone knew what was the right thing to do. But there was nothing for me to actually come and say because it was already done before this article came out.”
In other words, Ratner’s ouster from the sequel was a done deal by the time of Gadot’s supposed demand. Which actually makes perfect sense. As the LA Times has since noted, the current financing deal between RatPac-Dune and Warner expires early in 2018, with ‘Wonder Woman 2’ scheduled to film over the summer. So if Ratner’s company was to have anything to do with the film, it would have been as a result of a renewal of that agreement. Given the nature of the accusations facing Ratner, such a renewal was, suffice to say, a long shot at best. And as we now know, Warner has cut ties with the director/producer.
‘Wonder Woman 2’ is currently targeted for a November 1, 2019, release. Gal Gadot’s most recent appearance as Wonder Woman is in ‘Justice League’, which opens this Friday. Directed by Zack Snyder and Joss Whedon, ‘Justice League’ sees Gadot joined by an ensemble that includes Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Ray Fisher, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, J.K. Simmons, Amber Heard, Ciaran Hinds, Diane Lane, and Amy Adams.