Gal Gadot Lands Iconic Disney Villain Role

12/26/2021 11:46 am EST

Gal Gadot is going from hero to villain. She may be known for bringing DC Comics' Wonder Woman to the big screen, but now she's slated to play an iconic Dinsey villain. Deadline reported in November that Gadot was cast as the Evil Queen in the upcoming live-action adaption of Snow White. She will star opposite Rachel Zegler, who's playing the titular role in Disney's remake. 

According to Deadline, Gadot is in final negotiations to play the iconic villain. The publication reported that studio executives always had their eyes on the Red Notice actor for the role. They also reported that Gadot was said to be interested in joining the likes of Angelina Jolie and Cate Blanchett, both of whom have portrayed famous Disney villains (Maleficent and the evil stepmother in Cinderella, respectively). Since she was interested in becoming the Evil Queen, all parties were able to close on a deal. 

The live-action Snow White adaptation will star Zegler as the titular princess. She was cast after a "long and thorough" search from studio execs. The film is set to be directed by Marc Webb and produced by Marc Platt. They will reportedly begin production on the movie sometime in 2022. Although, an exact start date for production has yet to be revealed. It was reported in June that Zegler would be taking on the role of Snow White. She voiced her excitement over the opportunity on social media, writing, "I HAVE MANIFESTED MY ENTIRE LIFE I THINK I THINK." Zegler also shared a video of herself meeting Snow White, which she captioned with, "homegirl we have LOTS to catch up on." 

The young actor just made her feature film debut in Steven Spielberg's West Side Story remake. She stars as Maria, a role made famous by Natalie Wood in the 1961 film. At the time that Zegler's casting as Snow White was first announced, Webb released a statement in which he shared, "Rachel's extraordinary vocal abilities are just the beginning of her gifts. Her strength, intelligence and optimism will become an integral part of rediscovering the joy in this classic Disney fairytale." This Snow White adaptation isn't the only one in the works at Disney. The company is also working on live-action adaptations of The Little Mermaid and Pinocchio. In the former movie, Halle Bailey was cast as Ariel, with Melissa McCarthy (Ursula) and Daveed Diggs (Sebastian) rounding out the ensemble. 

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