Gal Gadot Reportedly Won’t Return for ‘Wonder Woman 2’ If Brett Ratner Is Involved
A sequel to this year’s breakout hit Wonder Woman has been in the works since July, but in light of sexual assault allegations against producer Brett Ratner, Gal Gadot has reportedly said that she won’t return to the franchise if he’ll make any money from it.
An unnamed “Hollywood Source” tells Page Six that Gadot is refusing to star as the Amazon warrior unless Warner Bros. cuts all ties with Ratner’s production company, RatPac-Dune. The studio has had a partnership with the company since 2013, which Warner recently chose not to renew after 2018. A “Warner Bros. insider” told the publication, “Brett made a lot of money from the success of Wonder Woman, thanks to his company having helped finance the first movie. Now Gadot is saying she won’t sign for the sequel unless Warner Bros. buys Brett out [of his financing deal] and gets rid of him.”
Given that Wonder Woman’s primary message is one of female empowerment, it stands to reason Gadot feels it would be inappropriate for someone who has been accused by multiple women of sexual harassment and assault to profit from it. Olivia Munn was one of six women who spoke to the Los Angeles Times with stories about Ratner’s behavior, and Ellen Page posted a lengthy Facebook post detailing how the producer had outed her to her X-Men: The Last Stand co-stars when she was 18.
Last month, Gadot backed out of a dinner honoring Ratner, citing scheduling issues with her Chinese Justice League publicity tour, according to Variety. She was supposed to present Ratner with the Tree of Life Award at a dinner for the Jewish National Foundation.
Wonder Woman 2 has been set for December 2019.