Actress Gal Gadot had nothing to do with Warner Bros. studio bosses dropping producer Brett Ratner from the Wonder Woman sequel.
Unconfirmed reports suggesting Gadot had threatened not to reprise her role as the Amazonian warrior princess for the DC Comics blockbuster follow-up if movie officials did not cut ties with embattled Ratner, who helped to finance the first film surfaced over the weekend (11-12Nov17) .
The news was dismissed by a Warner Bros. representative, as other industry insiders pointed out the studio’s deal with Ratner’s RatPac-Dune would have already expired by the time Wonder Woman 2 begins production.
Now Gadot, who previously condemned Hollywood’s sexual harassment scandal following allegations made against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, has cleared up the claims, insisting she didn’t have to say anything to studio chiefs about the sexual misconduct reports surrounding Ratner, because the situation had resolved itself before it became headline news.
The filmmaker had previously announced he would be stepping back from his dealings with Warner Bros. after he was accused of inappropriate behavior by actresses including Olivia Munn and Natasha Henstridge in a Los Angeles Times expose earlier this month (Nov17). He has denied the allegations.
Appearing on Today on Wednesday (15Nov17), Gal explained, “At the end of the day, a lot has been written about my views and the way that I feel, and everyone knows the way that I feel because I’m not hiding anything.
“But the truth is, there’s so many people involved in making this movie, 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.”
The Israeli beauty’s comments emerge two days after Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins addressed the tabloid rumors while attending the Los Angeles premiere of Justice League, in which Gadot stars as her superhero alter ego.
“That whole thing (cutting ties with Ratner) happened weeks ago, so that actually had nothing to do with Gal,” Jenkins told Entertainment Tonight on Monday (13Nov17). “That was a foregone conclusion. So, anyway, I was surprised by that story.”
Wonder Woman 2 is scheduled to hit theaters in November, 2019.
