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Gal Gadot is officially set to reunite with Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins for an upcoming Cleopatra biopic. The 35-year-old Israeli actress will portray the legendary Queen of Egypt in the upcoming historical drama, which is being developed by Paramount Pictures.
Gal Gadot will be taking over from the likes of Vivien Leigh, Claudette Colbert and most notably, Elizabeth Taylor, whose iconic chemistry with co-star Richard Burton would become the talk of tinseltown for ages to come.
The upcoming project is being helmed by Patty Jenkins, best known for the Academy-Award winning film Monster and the Wonder Woman series, with Gadot in the lead.
Gal Gadot recently took to Twitter to formally announce the upcoming Cleopatra biopic:
While Gal Gadot has received worldwide recognition post her portrayal of Diana Prince/ Wonder Woman in the DCEU, her recent casting as Cleopatra has come in for a fair share of criticism over issues related to race and ethnicity.
Twitter reacts to Gal Gadot as Cleopatra
In history, Cleopatra is known as the daughter of Ptolemy, ancestor of the leader of Alexander the Great's army.
She is also known for her relationships with Julius Caesar and later on, Mark Antony. Over the years, she has become an Egyptian icon who has received several interpretations across various mediums such as art, literature and cinema.
According to an exclusive report by Deadline, the Cleopatra biopic will be scripted by Laeta Kalogridis (Shutter Island, Pathfinder) and was subject to an auction which Paramount Pictures ended up winning:
"The film will be produced by Atlas Entertainment’s Charles Roven, Jenkins, Gadot and her Pilot Wave Motion Pictures partner Jaron Varsano. Kalogridis will be the exec producer."
While Gadot is currently one of the most popular actresses, thanks to her breakthrough role as Wonder Woman in the DCEU, her recent casting as Cleopatra has not exactly won over the online community, as a certain section believe she isn't the right choice:
Others were downright dismissive of her being cast as Cleopatra:
However, another section of the online community supported the decision to cast Gal Gadot as Cleopatra, as they believed she was a 'perfect fit':
Ian Miles Cheong even managed to see the ironical side of things, as his tweet highlighted the irreverent backlash coming Gadot's way:
From the reactions above, one can gauge a strong sense of duality which exists online, with regards to the casting of Gal Gadot as Cleopatra.
As the debate rages on, all eyes are now on Gadot, who looks all set to swap the golden lasso, for a golden crown.
