Mark your watchlists, a new Gal Gadot movie is in the works. We’re still reeling from all the controversy surrounding that subpar Snow White remake. Regardless, the actor who became a household name with Wonder Woman has no time for such trivialities in life. She has been busy lately. And from the looks of things, it’s for all the right reasons.
Soon, everyone will forget about Snow White’s politically charged backlash that (quite distastefully) managed to drag even the Israel-Palestine conflict into its midst. That’s just how Hollywood’s ruthless engine has functioned for a long time. Nevertheless, Gadot’s new movie is bound to give many talking heads something new to talk about. After all, she’s stepping into the shoes of a “newly released camp prisoner” in post-WWII Germany.
Ruin Casts Gal Gadot in a raw, vengeful transformation
The Hollywood Reporter updated the masses on May 1st:
Gal Gadot and Matthias Schoenaerts are looking for justice in their World War II feature Ruin… set in the rubble of Germany following World War II, with a newly released camp prisoner (Gadot) forming an alliance with a German soldier (Schoenaerts) as they both seek revenge on a Nazi Schutzstaffel unit.
Reports suggest that Christian Bale was the initial choice for the German soldier alongside Gadot in this movie. But there’s no doubt Mathias Schoenarts (of The Danish Girl fame) is more than qualified to see out Ruin’s ambitious venture. Filming for the movie will begin in early 2025, with New Zealand filmmaker Niki Caro slated as the director.
Kaz and Ryan Firpo are behind the critically acclaimed screenplay that topped the 2017 Black List. MadRiver Pictures will co-produce the film alongside Gal Gadot and her husband Jason Varsano’s Pilot Wave Motion Pictures. The executive producers of the film include director Caro, Gillian Hormel of Ludascripts, Mary Aloe of Aloe Entertainment, and the Firpo brothers.
This won’t be Gadot’s first turn playing a Jewish role. The 2004 Miss Israel’s Gisele Yashar, from the Fast & Furious franchise, hails from Israel. She even “opens the first Charab house” in the 2012 Israeli TV miniseries Kathmandu.
Beyond these, Gadot will soon portray Irena Sendler in her biopic. For those unaware, she was a Polish woman who saved thousands of Jewish children during the Holocaust. Plus, she’s also filming an eight-part series chronicling the life of Hedy Lamarr, a Jewish actress and inventor, set to premiere on Apple TV+.
But it doesn’t stop there. She is also currently filming another thriller titled The Runner for MGM Amazon Studios in London. This is certainly a welcome change of pace for Gadot, who has been involved in a lot of controversy ever since the war broke out in Gaza. Gadot is a former member of the Israel Defense Forces (courtesy of a mandatory two-year service term), has been in plenty of negative headlines for her pro-Israel stance on the matter.
All those issues bled onto the set of Snow White. And beyond.
Wonder Woman’s wartime revenge and real-life tensions
Disney’s live-action Snow White remake became a lightning rod for criticism long before its March 2025 release. The troubles started with the casting of Rachel Zegler, an actor of Colombian descent, as the titular protagonist. This decision from the filmmakers prompted an awful reception from a portion of the audience.
Adding fuel to the fire, Zegler spoke out about elements of the original 1937 film, calling them “dated.” Beyond just casting, the very idea of remaking a film (seemingly no one asked for) drew fire. Actors like Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage felt a story featuring seven dwarfs was culturally incorrect in 2025. In his words on Marc Maron’s ‘WTF‘ podcast in 2022:
They were very proud to cast a Latino actress as Snow White, but you’re still telling the story of ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.’ Take a step back and look at what you’re doing there. It makes no sense to me. You’re progressive in one way, but you’re still making that f*cking backward story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together…
Then came the layer of the Israel-Hamas war. Her co-star Zegler identifies as pro-Palestine. In contrast, at the Anti-Defamation League summit on March 4, 2025, Gadot denounced those not condemning Hamas’s actions. This real-life political divide between the film’s star and villain became a major talking point with plenty of narratives.
Despite the assumed “tensions”, Gadot and Zegler appeared together at the 97th Oscars on March 2, 2025, to (ironically) present the Best Visual award. So much for all those debates over Snow White’s cinematography and its use of CGI.
As for the present, Ruin appears to center Gadot in a story rooted in the very real scars of a heartless genocide. It’s a role that hits close to home for someone who has long championed Jewish history in her movies.
