A fair amount of Gal Gadot movie news has been coming down the pipeline, both causing controversy and garnering a fair amount of anticipation. The famed ancient Egyptian queen has been depicted on the screen many times before but was most famously portrayed (and whitewashed) by actress Elizabeth Taylor in the eponymous 1963 historical epic. The latest actress to take up the mantle of Marc Antony's lover was 's Adele James in Netflix's pseudo-docuseries . However, it seems that the Egyptian Queen's story has a difficult time being told on the screen without creating controversy, as the docuseries was panned by critics.

actress Gal Gadot announced via all the way back in 2020 that she was teaming up with filmmaker Patty Jenkins () and screenwriter Laeta Kalogridis to bring Cleopatra's story back to the big screen, citing the importance of the tale being told through a woman's eyes. Gal Gadot movie news was relatively scant following this announcement but has since reared up again now that development is well in progress. Here's everything that's known about the upcoming Gal Gadot movie, including the cast, story, release date, and what has audiences up in arms.

saw the actress speaking up about the delays that have befallen the development process. During an interview with , Gadot was asked about the status of the long-awaited Cleopatra biopic, and while her update was promising, she did acknowledge the delays. According to her, Gal Gadot's movie is taking so long because she feels that the adaptation of such a renowned historic figure's life takes time to depict respectfully. Gadot wholeheartedly wants to do Cleopatra justice, and she believes that the extra time taken to explore Cleopatra's story is an integral part of the process. Her full quote can be read below:

It’s a big task. I don’t want to [rush] making it— it’s something that needs...so much thought and care because it’s Cleopatra. We have incredible writers working on the script—before and after the writer’s strike—like Laeta Kalogridis. It’s a beautiful script. We’re not rushing ourselves because you have to be responsible when you deal with such an incredible, iconic, legendary woman.

While there is no Gal Gadot movie release date yet, the film is confirmed as being in development. The first bit of Gal Gadot

movie news came from the actress herself in 2020 and the project has been stuck in development hell ever since, facing further complications when it lost director Patty Jenkins and moved from Universal Pictures to Paramount in 2022. However, (via ) in 2021. Regardless, hasn't begun filming, despite a slew of promotional images being released.

Unfortunately, not a ton of Gal Gadot movie news has come out about the cast of the upcoming film. So far, the only confirmed member of the Gal Gadot movie cast is Gadot herself.

There are a few things known, at least, about the crew involved with bringing Cleopatra's story to the big screen. While Patty Jenkins was initially set to direct, she's since stepped away from the helm and will serve as executive producer. (). In addition, screenwriter Laeta Kalogridis () has reportedly penned the finished screenplay.

While there's no real Gal Gadot movie news about the actual story, it can be presumed that the film will chronicle the Queen's place in Egyptian and Roman history as the lover of Julius Caesar, the wife of Marc Antony, and ruler of Egypt.

The Gal Gadot movie story will start at an unknown point in the figure's life, but will probably see her ascend the throne after the death of her father King Ptolemy XII Auletes. After marrying Roman General Marc Antony, their forces in the Civil War between Pompey and Caesar were slaughtered by the Roman Army of Octavian, and the couple died by suicide (via ).

There's no question that , namely, for whitewashing its main character. However, as similar controversy around the miniseries and its Black lead (Adele James), the issue of race and adaptations of Cleopatra is not a simple one. Many were hoping that an Egyptian actress would take on the role of the Egyptian queen, however, Cleopatra's own ancestry wasn't Egyptian.

Historically speaking, Cleopatra was a Greek woman of Macedonian ancestry, coming from a long line of Ptolemy rulers, with her reign preceding the Arab invasion of the region. There are rumors that her mother was of African ancestry, but this remains unknown. Because of this, a Black Cleopatra received backlash for erasure of the Greek Queen's own race (in ).

While it's no secret that Hollywood has been guilty of whitewashing various characters for years, the Gal Gadot movie news that declares the film has been whitewashed perpetuates a harmful misunderstanding about Gadot's own background, as she's an Israeli actress of Ashkenazi Jew ancestry.

Gadot has spoken out about the whitewashing controversy to (via ), saying,

Other Gal Gadot movie news sees than her previous iterations on the screen. Gadot told that while the historical figure would still be painted as "sexy and appealing," greater focus would be placed on her impact and her strategic cunning. Gadot stated.