In two months, Wonder Woman will finally make her live action cinematic debut in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, played by Gal Gadot. This is the first of many appearances for Diana of Themyscira, including her solo outing and the Justice League movies. Getting the opportunity to play one of pop culture’s most recognizable figures is great for any actress, but originally Gadot wasn’t clued in on how big a deal this was. She didn’t think she was trying out for the Amazon princess, but instead a familiar Batman adversary.
Gal Gadot admitted that when she went into audition for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, all she knew ahead of time was it was a Zack Snyder-directed Warner Bros. project, and she assumed that she would be testing for Catwoman. As she told Empire:
I mean, I could have guessed. I thought it was going to be Selina (Kyle), you know?
The actress said she only found out what the role really was when she flew in to test with Ben Affleck, the latest big screen Batman. She was excited that it was actually Wonder Woman, as her dream role was always to play an "empowered, independent woman who doesn’t rely on men." A 5,000 year old warrior from a mystical island populated entirely by women certainly fits the bill.
Considering that the majority of Warner Bros.’ superhero movies have been Batman adventures, it’s not surprising that Gadot went to Catwoman first, especially since it’s a movie involving the Caped Crusader. Plus, if you’re not a longtime comic book fan, Catwoman is one of the few well known female characters from DC Comics aside from Wonder Woman, and when the movie was first announced, there was no indication Wonder Woman would be involved. It’s an honest mistake. Selina Kyle was most recently played by Anne Hathaway in 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises, but with reports of a new solo Batman series for the DCEU, perhaps we’ll see a new version of the feline fatale in the near future.
Playing Wonder Woman also wasn’t the first opportunity Gal Gadot had to join a DC Comics movie. She was offered the part of an "evil Superman character" in Man of Steel, who was like Zod’s second-in-command, Faroa. The actress had to turn down the role because of her pregnancy, but things definitely worked out better for her. Following Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Gadot will return for Wonder Woman, a prequel following Diana’s first venture into the outside world during World War I. Following that, we’ll see her again working with the Justice League against a new world-threatening villain.
You can see Wonder Woman in action when Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice comes out on March 25.
