Gal Gadot to Play Cleopatra, Receives Backlash from Critics

From “Wonder Woman” to the Queen of the Nile: Gal Gadot will reteam with director Patty Jenkins, who has directed her twice as the superheroine, in “Cleopatra” for Paramount Pictures. Laeta Kalogordis will write the screenplay for the historical drama, which will follow the legendary ruler’s political and romantic alliances with Julius Caesar and Marc Antony. No further casting has been announced.

Gadot’s future slate has two other bios on it, one about actress Hedy Lamarr and the other about World War II heroine Irena Sendler, who saved thousands of Jewish children during the Holocaust while working for the Polish Underground. 

She’s currently shooting the Netflix heist thriller “Red Notice” and is in Kenneth Branagh’s remake of the classic whodunit “Death on the Nile,” in which she plays another character who meets her end in Egypt. It’s due for release Dec. 18, one week ahead of “Wonder Woman 1984.” Both films have been postponed several times each and their release dates remain pandemic-contingent.

Over the weekend, Gadot received backlash for accepting the role. Critics complained that Gadot is neither Egyptian nor Arab, while others are pointing out that Cleopatra wasn’t actually Arab.

Pakistani journalist Sameera Kahn blasted the casting, which was reported Sunday, in a tweet that has stirred widespread discussion on the platform.

Which Hollywood dumbass thought it would be a good idea to cast an Israeli actress as Cleopatra (a very bland looking one) instead of a stunning Arab actress like Nadine Njeim?

And shame on you, Gal Gadot. Your country steals Arab land & you’re stealing their movie roles… smh. https://t.co/GY5tYEcl4K pic.twitter.com/JcrnM1RUQq

— Sameera Khan (@SameeraKhan) October 11, 2020

“Which Hollywood dumbass thought it would be a good idea to cast an Israeli actress as Cleopatra (a very bland looking one) instead of a stunning Arab actress like Nadine Njeim? And shame on you, Gal Gadot. Your country steals Arab land & you’re stealing their movie roles… smh,” Kahn wrote.

Njeim is a Lebanese and Tunisian actress who was elected Miss Lebanon 2004.

Israeli journalist Sarah Tuttle-Singer responded to Kahn’s tweet, writing: “Sucks when a woman in power belittles another woman for her ‘bland’ looks. Also, Cleopatra was neither Arab nor African nor Israeli. She was Macedonian Greek.”

Cleopatra was the last monarch of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, which ruled the country from 305 BC to 30 BC. She is a descendant of Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian Greek general.

Historians have not definitively proven the ethnicity or identity of Cleopatra’s mother.

Other Twitter users accused Gadot of supporting “genocide” for her Israeli heritage or called for the role to go to a Black actress, because Egypt is part of Africa.

The Cleopatra film will be directed by Patty Jenkins, who has also helmed the Gadot “Wonder Woman” films, the second of which is set to hit theaters this Christmas.

In her announcement of the film, Gadot said the Cleopatra movie would tell the queen’s story “for the first time through women’s eyes, both behind and in front of the camera.”

Gadot’s husband Yaron Varsano and the couple’s Pilot Wave production company will be involved in the project as well. Universal, Warner Bros, Netflix and Apple also vied for the rights to the film, according to reports.