Gal Gadot passes on ‘Ben-Hur’ due to ‘Batman v Superman’ schedule
Gal Gadot has passed on a role in Ben Hur, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed, noting that her schedule for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice won’t allow it to work out.
“Gadot was to have co-starred as the female lead, but Batman v Superman‘s complicated and ever-lengthening shoot has put the kibosh in the proceedings. Gadot plays Wonder Woman in Zack Snyder‘s Batman v Superman, and is signed on to appear as the DC superhero in a number of Warner Bros.’ films, including a solo adventure and a series of Justice League movies. The Wrap first reported the news,” notes THR in their Oct. 31 article.
The Wrap summarizes that “While Gadot was able to fit supporting roles in the indie movies Triple Nine and Criminal into her busy schedule, Ben-Hur is a much longer shoot that Gadot couldn’t accommodate. She’ll remain focused on Wonder Woman, who is getting her own solo movie in 2017 — the same year the beloved character will appear in Zack Snyder‘s Justice League: Part One.”
Ben Hur, a remake of the 1959 Charlton Heston classic, will star Boardwalk Empire’s Jack Huston as the Jewish prince whose onetime best friend Messala (Toby Kebbell) betrays him. He fights his way to freedom and is remember for the epic chariot races in the process. Morgan Freeman is on board the project as the man who trains Ben-Hur in chariot-racing. Gadot was to play Ben Hur’s love interest, a slave named Esther.
Ben Hur is to shoot in Europe in early 2015 with Immortals director Timur Bekmambetov working from a script currently being re-written by the Oscar-winning John Ridley.
Ben-Hur will open in theaters on February 26, 2016.
