Growing up in Israel, which borders Egypt, Gadot was familiar with Cleopatra’s tales and found her to be a real and powerful female leader. “I grew up with so many stories about Cleopatra, and she’s like a household name. You know, if Wonder Woman is the imaginary strong female leader, Cleopatra’s actually the real one. All I ever saw in regards to Cleopatra from film was that she was this seductive woman who had an affair with Julius Caesar and Marc Anthony. But the truth is, there’s so much more to her.”

Initially, Gadot’s Cleopatra movie, first announced in 2020, was supposed to be directed by Patty Jenkins, who helmed the Wonder Woman films. However, Kari Skogland has taken over the directorial role now, as per the publication. The project also faced controversies due to Gadot’s casting as the Egyptian queen. The Wonder Woman star is an Israeli actor playing a mixed-race historical figure. The outrage mirrored the whitewashing of casting Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra in Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s eponymous 1963 film and has once again taken over social media.

“It’s actually quite fitting because just like the Israeli Gal Gadot is, Cleopatra was an immigrant whose family took over a foreign land filled with ancient history and massacred the ethnic people of the land and spoke a different language entirely,” read a tweet. Another user hopes the backlash is as strong as it was when a black woman was cast for the same.

Gadot defended her portrayal in a 2020 BBC Arabic interview, emphasising Cleopatra’s Macedonian heritage and her admiration for the historic icon. “First of all, if you want to be true to the facts then Cleopatra was Macedonian. We were looking for a Macedonian actress that could fit Cleopatra. She wasn’t there, and I was very passionate about Cleopatra,” she had said. “I have friends from across the globe, whether they’re Muslims or Christian or Catholic or atheist or Buddhist, or Jewish of course. People are people, and with me, I want to celebrate the legacy of Cleopatra and honour this amazing historic icon that I admire so much.”

The Cleopatra movie aims to highlight the queen’s intelligence and influence on the world. Earlier last year, Gadot stated in an interview with InStyle magazine that the film will demonstrate not just her allure but also her strategic acumen and her lasting impact on history. However, the production timeline for the film still remains uncertain.

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