Golden Force

Gal Gadot is a bona fide action star. Since early roles providing a female force in the Fast & Furious franchise to taking the lead as Wonder Woman in the DC universe and, now, as she is expected to become one of Netflix’s highest paid actresses for her upcoming role in Red Notice – the streaming company’s most expensive film to date – there’s no doubt that this Israeli beauty is a force to be reckoned with on screen as well as off.

First taking on the mantle of superhero Diana Prince in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, it was Gadot's solo outing in Wonder Woman the following year that set the actress and producer at the heart of DC Comic’s big screen franchise. Now, she’s set to reprise the role for the fourth time in Wonder Woman 1984 – expected to be released on 2 October, after multiple delays to its cinematic release during the global Covid-19 shutdown.

With returning talent including director Patty Jenkins and actor Chris Pine, Wonder Woman 1984 also welcomes Kristin Wiig and Pedro Pascal to the cast. But, it’s the high-octane battle sequences that really steal the show, thanks to Gadot’s fearless approach to action.

Gadot, who completed military service as a combat trainer in the Israel Defense Force before turning to the silver screen, received training in swordsmanship, kung fu, kickboxing, capoeira and Brazilian jiu-jitsu to play the role of the Amazonian demigod, taking on as many of her own stunts as possible (with a short break while pregnant with her second child with real estate and hotel magnate, Yaron Versano).

Here, Gadot shares her experiences on set, why she loves the 1980s and how Wonder Woman has become a source of power in her personal life. »

Gal, what is it like to reprise the role of Wonder Woman?

She is part of who I am now. I can’t imagine my life without Wonder Woman. It’s been so intense and powerful, and had such an impact on my personal life. I feel super grateful that we got the opportunity again to have this incredible platform that the fans care about, to tell a story with a character that we love so much – and to make this movie meaningful and hopefully impactful. I try to keep focused on my character’s journey: obviously the Wonder Woman movies are all about her, whereas with the ensemble movies it’s a bit different; it’s about the team.

What can we expect from Wonder Woman 1984?

In the first movie, we got to establish the story of Diana Prince becoming Wonder Woman. It’s been some time since we last saw her; she’s been around, doing what she needed to do to help mankind. But she’s also been very lonely as she’s lost all of her friends over the years – and now something crazy is about to happen to her.

The film really captures the spirit of the 1980s. What did you like most about replicating that time?

Wow, what’s not to like? I feel like this is a decade where music was amazing, art, all the pop culture, the colours, the vibe: like humankind celebrated itself in that decade. I was also born in that decade, so I have a special place in my heart for it.

The costuming is phenomenally detailed, such as the famous golden armour. What was it like to wear?

Amazing, amazing, amazing! There’s something about the golden armour that immediately puts you in character. It looks good, and I feel sexy wearing it, but it’s actually really uncomfortable to wear so I had to struggle with that.

What was the toughest challenge shooting this film?

The toughest challenge is just balancing between work and personal life. This movie is so demanding and ambitious and we were shooting for eight months. Both [director] Patty Jenkins and I are mothers and have a family, so I guess that that was probably my biggest personal challenge.

How much of the fight sequences did you perform yourself ?

I do a lot. I do have two stunt girls working with me – because it is very extensive work and extremely physical. I get injured. We had wires and rigs for miles, so that I could run at the same speed as Usain Bolt. If we have to choose between really doing a stunt and CGI, we’ll go for the real version of it. But it is a lot of work, because we’ve tried to make it our own, with fresh new things that have never been done before. That was really challenging for us. It’s been a long, incredible journey, and now finally we feel that it’s getting closer and we can start to share the movie with the world. »

Were you shocked at any of the stunts you had to perform?

The ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe I have to do that’ moments were all physical things. Patty is one of my closest friends and so it’s hard for me to say no to her. She has a great will, so I’ll find myself trying to negotiate my stance and she’ll be like, “I see what you’re saying, but don’t you think it’s going to be it’s so much better if…”. Those were the moments where I found myself with many different injuries shooting this movie… but it’s worth it. Having watched the movie now, I’m so happy with the way we did it.

Tell us about working with Kristen Wiig, who plays your on-screen rival, Cheetah?

We wanted to cast Kristen from the get-go. We are huge fans of hers, she’s just super-talented and a great person. Kristen and I ended up being incredible friends. Between takes, we would go to the side and shoot something goofy. We have a band now, we have music videos that we’ve edited – like this is real, we’re going to release it when the movie comes out. As hard as it was to shoot the movie, it was a lot of fun, too.

What was your reaction to seeing an early cut of the film?

I had such a strong reaction to this movie, and although I’m not an easy crier, it caught me off guard. I can’t tell you what happened in the movie that made me cry, I can just say it was the very beginning. All of a sudden I wasn’t Gal – the actress and producer who was on set – I was that little girl from Israel at the cinema. It’s a surreal experience, watching this film and seeing this amazing woman doing these amazing things. I did not expect that. On the set, I didn’t even notice. That was the moment where I thought, “This is why [Wonder Woman is] so frickin’ important. This is why it’s not like any other movie.” I hope the audience will have a similar reaction.

What are you most excited for fans to see?

I feel like in this movie we finally get to explore who Diana is, what she struggles with, and take it to the next level. I’m just so happy and so grateful that it was all worth it – that we’ve told the Wonder Woman story once again, and done it in a whole new way. It’s a different chapter.