Director and writer James Gunn has seemingly confirmed that Gal Gadot will not return as Wonder Woman in the new DC Universe initiative.
The actress, who is scheduled to appear as the Evil Queen in next year’s live-action adaptation of Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), has frequently spoken out about her apparent involvement in the rebooted Warner Bros. franchise, but DC executives have rebuffed these claims.
Gal Gadot and Disney’s Snow White
In 2025, actress Gal Gadot will return to the big screen as the Evil Queen in The Walt Disney Company’s Snow White. She will appear in the live-action remake alongside Rachel Zegler, who plays the titular Disney princess.
There has been immense controversy surrounding this adaptation of Disney’s first-ever animated feature film. From Zegler’s casting to the initial reports of replacing the dwarfs with “magical creatures” to Zegler’s viral comments on the 1937 movie, Marc Webb’s musical movie is not on the best footing.
With under a year to go, and as the dust settles on the online discourse surrounding the film, audiences may consider giving Disney’s Snow White a chance. It is, after all, penned by Barbie (2023) scribe Greta Gerwig, who wrote the screenplay with Erin Cressida Wilson (The Girl on the Train).
Disney’s Snow White was initially meant to be released in March 2024, but due to the SAG-AFTRA strikes (and seemingly the bubbling contention regarding the film), it was bumped to March 2025. Andrew Burnap also stars as the new prince character, Jonathan.
This year, a new Snow White will still make her debut. The Daily Wire’s streaming service, Bentkey, will release Snow White and the Evil Queen (2024), starring Brett Cooper as the princess.
Aside from one promotional image of the Disney movie, no footage of the movie has been shared, leaving fans to speculate just what direction the movie will go. Will Zegler’s Snow be as different as she has made out? Will Gal Gadot’s Evil Queen be truly evil or, in modern Disney fashion, be eventually redeemed by the princes?
In August 2023, Gadot shared details about her audition process.
“It was the first time I had to kind of audition for a project in a while,” Gadot said in a GQ video (via The Hollywood Reporter). “They needed to make sure I can sing because this is a musical. So, for a month, I was working on the song, and then I auditioned, and we filmed the song, and I got the part, and it was very exciting.”
Gadot went on to praise how “delicious and delightful” the movie is and how her role became “big and theatrical.”
So, while Gadot begins her next big blockbuster role as the Evil Queen for Disney, it seems her time as another iconic character is officially at its end.
Wonder Woman No More
Gal Gadot made her DC Extended Universe debut in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) before appearing in her own solo movie, Wonder Woman (2017) from director Patty Jenkins.
In that same year, Gadot also joined the ensemble cast of Justice League, the polarizing superhero movie directed by Zack Snyder but completed by Joss Whedon after Snyder’s exit due to the death of his daughter.
In recent years, Gadot—like other Justice League actors—has been vocal about Whedon’s behavior and inappropriate attitude on the set of the DC movie. The Israeli actress discussed Whedon’s toxic behavior, which he said was misconstrued due to “English not being her first language.”
“He kind of threatened my career and said if I did something, he [would] make sure my career is miserable,” Gadot told the Israeli channel N12 in 2020 (via The Independent).
A witness after the confrontation between Whedon and Gadot, which was allegedly around Wonder Woman’s dialogue, said, “He told her he’s the writer and she’s going to shut up and say the lines and he can make her look incredibly stupid in this movie.”
Multiple other reports have surfaced about Whedon’s behavior, notably from Ray Fisher, who played Cyborg in Justice League, and from the cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, Whedon’s smash-hit TV shows from the late nineties.
While Whedon has taken a low profile since major allegations about his character have been made, Gadot has continued to have a solid Hollywood career.
The actress has appeared in the DCEU’s Wonder Woman 1984 (2020), Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021), Red Notice (2021), Death on the Nile (2022), and cameo appearances in Fast X (2023), Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023), and The Flash (2023).
Related: Disney Officially Rejects, Changes Course on 87-Year-Old Classic Princess Legacy
Gadot’s role as Diana Prince, AKA Wonder Woman, is perhaps her most recognized role. Still, it seems the new caretakers of the DC Studios superhero franchise will not be having her return to play the Amazonian warrior.
In a recent social media exchange (via Comic Book Movie), director James Gunn nonchalantly stated that the Wonder Woman role had not been cast in the DCU, simply saying “Correct” when asked if it was safe to assume that the character had not been cast.
This is not the first time Wonder Woman’s role in the new DCU has been questioned. As fans know, Gunn and Safran’s vision is to have the same actor play their respective character across all mediums: live-action, animation, film, TV, and even video games.
In early 2023, the new co-CEOs of DC Studios, a subsidiary of David Zaslav’s Warner Bros. Discovery, James Gunn and Peter Safran, revealed their initial plans for the franchise reboot. The studio would no longer continue with its troubled DCEU, but a new wave of interconnected stories—complete with new casts—would begin.
With actors like Henry Cavill (Clark Kent/Superman) ousted from their roles, Gunn and Safran are really going all in on their new strategy. Cavill only returned to the franchise in late 2022 but has now been replaced by David Corenswet, who will star alongside Rachel Brosnahan (Lois Lane) in 2025’s Superman.
As for Gal Gadot, a third Wonder Woman was once in the works but was shelved amid the Warner Bros. restructure. Confusion sprouted last year after Gadot seemingly teased that she had met with Gunn and Safran about continuing her role as Diana Prince in the new DCU. These reports, however, were debunked.
Related: Major Marvel Star Prepares to Defect to James Gunn DCU, Admits to New Role
“…none of the stars cast by Zack Snyder for 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and 2017’s Justice League–including Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, and [Jason] Momoa–will reprise their roles in the new DC universe in character,” Variety reported in October 2023.
While it may have been discussed in various other circles, this is the most recent confirmation fans have had regarding Wonder Woman’s status in the DCU.
Who do you think should play Wonder Woman in the DCU? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!
