Gal Gadot Signs Massive Deal For Her Next Franchise
Gal Gadot has a new action franchise on the way.
This article is more than 2 years old
In what looks to be a franchise-starter, Gal Gadot has just signed a massive deal with Skydance Media to star in Heart of Stone, an original international spy thriller. The eight-figure deal (exact numbers have not been revealed) immediately pushes Gadot into the top echelon of actresses’ salary scale.
With Heart of Stone, Skydance is looking to put a female spin on franchises such as Mission: Impossible and James Bond’s 007 and Gal Gadot could easily fill those shoes. This original story idea was scripted by Eisner winning comic book writer Greg Rucka (The Old Guard, Lazarus) and Hidden Figures’ Oscar-nominated writer Allison Schroeder. Tom Harper, best known for The Aeronauts, is in talks to direct the project.
Gal Gadot first showed she could handle action when she appeared in the Fast & Furious’s fourth film, aptly titled Fast & Furious. She played Gisele and was so instrumental that she was brought back for Fast Five, Fast & Furious 6, and Furious 7. Those were great movies for Gadot to cut her action teeth on.
Of course, Gal Gadot’s claim to fame at the moment is Wonder Woman, which she first played in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. She got her first lead as the DC superhero the following year in Wonder Woman and then came back later that year in Justice League.
Gal Gadot is not done when it comes to Wonder Woman. She is next slated to appear as Princess Diana of Themyscira in the upcoming Christmas Day release of Wonder Woman 1984, which will actually see a dual release of movie theaters and streaming on HBO Max. This movie will see Diana taking on Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal) and Cheetah (Kristen Wiig). It’s a good thing Warner decided to also opt for the streaming route with Wonder Woman 1984 because it was recently revealed the movie’s running time will clock in at 2 hours and 31 minutes. Pause when necessary.
Not much else is known about Heart of Stone in terms of story. Skydance Media simply has it set that they want a female-led action franchise, and they feel Gal Gadot can deliver. An eight-figure deal shows a ton of confidence. Not only will Gadot star in the potential franchise, but she is also on board as a producer via her Pilot Wave production company along with her partners Jaron Varsano, Bonnie Curtis, and Julie Lynn. Skydance is bringing along David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and Don Granger to help produce the project.
At this time, Skydance is leaving its option open when it comes to distribution and with the on-going pandemic, open options are a good thing. So, we don’t know if they will opt for a normal theatrical release, the film going straight to streaming, or if, like Wonder Woman 1984, it will be a combination of both. By the time Heart of Stone is set to be released, Skydance should have a much better handle on how a dual release of movies will fare.
There is also no set timeframe for Heart of Stone to even begin production, much less a potential release date. This is mainly because Gal Gadot is one busy actress. On top of Wonder Woman 1984 ready to roll, Gadot also has Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile waiting in the wings. After that, Gadot has Zack Snyder’s Justice League that will premiere on HBO Max. She recently just finished filming Netflix’s Red Notice with Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds and has the already announced Irena Sendler, Cleopatra, and Justice League Part Two in pre-production. Also recently announced is a Heddy Lemarr project where Gadot will star as the actress turned inventor who played a part in World War II.
With this announcement, Skydance aims to remain a big player when it comes to producing movies. They already have the Tom Cruise Mission: Impossible franchise under their belts (the seventh and eighth movies are coming soon) as well as Cruise’s upcoming Top Gun: Maverick movie. They also have Michael B. Jordan’s Without Remorse, as well as the G.I. Joe spin-off Snake Eyes, and another sci-fi actioner The Tomorrow War, starring Chris Pratt in a battle versus an invading alien force.
It will now be interesting to see just what Heart of Stone is all about and if like Skydance is betting eight-figures on, Gal Gadot can carry a spy-thriller franchise.
