Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot hopes Heart Of Stone launches new female spy franchise
LOS ANGELES – Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot wants to create a strong, female-driven action franchise along the lines of the James Bond, Mission: Impossible and Jason Bourne films.
And she is hoping her new spy thriller Heart Of Stone, which premieres on Netflix on Friday, makes that a reality.
Co-starring Jamie Dornan and Alia Bhatt, the film sees Gadot play an intelligence agent named Rachel Stone, who is trying to stop an advanced artificial intelligence system known as “The Heart” from falling into the wrong hands.
In a video chat with The Straits Times, the 38-year-old Israeli actress – who helmed the superhero films Wonder Woman (2017) and Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) – tips her hat to the Bond (1962 to present), Bourne (2002 to present) and Mission: Impossible movies (1996 to present) that inspired her.
“They are brilliant films that have such a huge legacy. I am just a simple woman who loves this genre and loves these movies,” says the star, who also appeared in the Fast And Furious action franchise (2001 to present).
But Gadot’s dream is to launch the female equivalent rather than tell another story revolving around a male spy/intelligence agent.
“After the success of Wonder Woman, when I realised there was truly an audience – of men and women – for female-led action films, that gave me the confidence to go and make this movie,” says the star, who is in talks to develop the third Wonder Woman instalment with DC Studios bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran.
So when plans for a third Wonder Woman film directed by Patty Jenkins – who helmed the previous two – were cancelled in late 2022, Gadot began devoting more time to developing her own projects from the ground up.
That includes Heart Of Stone, which is co-produced by her production company Pilot Wave.
It will also have a hand in three upcoming series and films that will see Gadot portraying historical figures: the inventor and Hollywood actress Hedy Lamarr, ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra and World War II humanitarian Irena Sendler.
Bhatt, Gadot’s Heart Of Stone co-star, says the actress has a ferocious work ethic.
The 30-year-old Indian-British actress, who starred in the Bollywood drama Highway (2014), recalls: “When I would see Gal taking instructions from the stunt team, (despite) having so much experience, she would still try and do it exactly the way they’re doing it, (then) give her opinion, and do it again and again.
“And she never backed down because of (tiredness). Her discipline is the reason she’s here, and it’s something I learnt a lot from.”
But even though Gadot was well-acquainted with stunt work from playing Wonder Woman, this role pushed her to her limits.
“I got so many bruises,” says the star, who is married to Israeli real estate developer and Pilot Wave partner Jaron Varsano, 48, and has three daughters aged 11, five and one.
“Every time I film these types of movies, I always think: ‘Okay, that was the most I’m ever going to be able to do – it can’t get any crazier than that.’
“And then comes the next movie, and the bar just keeps on going up and up,” says Gadot, who has black belts in karate and krav maga.
“Coming into this, I knew we were going to have huge set pieces, but we had action up in the sky, on the snowy mountain, on the beach, on the street – every type of exterior.
“It’s very physical and it takes months of training prior to filming. But we’re very lucky. We have such incredible stunt teams making sure everything we did looks good and keeping us safe at the same time.”
At the beginning of the film, Gadot’s character Rachel is dismissed by her colleagues as an inexperienced, desk-bound agent – and it is something the actress can relate to, having been underestimated “in my life so many times”.
“But I think once you have a good centre, and you do believe in yourself, you just follow your heart, follow your instincts and do what you believe in,” she says.
Heart Of Stone premieres on Netflix on Friday.
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