‘Wonder Woman 2’ Star Gal Gadot Clarifies Brett Ratner Boycott Story: ‘Everyone Knew What Was the Right Thing to Do’
Over the weekend, a report emerged via Page Six that “Wonder Woman” and “Justice League” star Gal Gadot was refusing to sign on for the much-hyped — and already-announced — sequel to Patty Jenkins’ smash hit if embattled producer Brett Ratner and his RatPac Entertainment were still attached to the production. At the time, a source reportedly told Page Six, “Brett made a lot of money from the success of ‘Wonder Woman,’ thanks to his company having helped finance the first movie. Now Gadot is saying she won’t sign for the sequel unless Warner Bros. buys Brett out [of his financing deal] and gets rid of him.”
Gadot’s apparent distaste for Ratner is well-documented. Prior to the recent publication of allegations of sexual harassment and abuse against the filmmaker and producer, Gadot notably canceled an appearance at a dinner where she was scheduled to present him an award. Yet the details surrounding Ratner’s potential involvement with the film seemed hazy — in addition to the implication that Gadot would walk from a film she was likely already signed to do — and the actress has now appeared on “TODAY” to clarify the timeline and mostly debunk Page Six’s report.
When asked by anchor Savannah Guthrie about the veracity of the report, Gadot said, “A lot has been written about my views and the way that I feel, and everyone knows the way I feel, because I’m not hiding anything. But the truth is, there are so many people involved in making this movie, it’s not just me, and they all echoed the same sentiment. Everyone knew what was the right thing to do.”
She added, “There was nothing for me to actually come and say, because it was already done before this article came out.” Watch the interview below:
WATCH: Gal Gadot responds to report she didn’t want to work with Brett Ratner, who has faced sexual harassment allegations, on next installment of Wonder Woman pic.twitter.com/rBuSH2CE2Z
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) November 15, 2017
While Gadot didn’t get into the weeds in regards to the business implications of her statement — “it was already done before” — her comments do speak to the actual truth of the arrangement: Ratner and RatPac were never going to produce “Wonder Woman 2” to begin with, and Gadot and the rest of the film’s team didn’t need to put their feet down to make that happen.
As Deadline has previously noted, Ratner’s RatPac was not previously committed to finance “Wonder Woman 2,” as its long-term agreement with distributor Warner Bros. will actually end well before the movie is made and released, as April 2017’s “Rampage” marks the end of said agreement. Moreover, “Ratner isn’t listed as producer on the first ‘Wonder Woman,’ as RatPac was merely a passive financier.”
Still, Warner Bros. will reportedly not be renewing that deal, likely fallout from the recent allegations waged against him.
“Wonder Woman 2” will open on November 1, 2019.
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