Gal Gadot defended his cast as Cleopatra after she was met on charges of “covering up” the next biopic.
Critics said an Arab or African actress should play the role of the iconic Egyptian leader, rather than the 35-year-old Israeli actress.
“First of all, if you want to be faithful to the facts, then Cleopatra was Macedonian,” Gadot said in Arabic to the BBC. “We were looking for a Macedonian actress who would fit Cleopatra. She was not there. And I was very much in love with Cleopatra. “
She added: “I have friends from all over the world, whether they are Muslims, Christians, Catholics, atheists, Buddhists or Jews, of course … People are people. And with me, I want to celebrate Cleopatra’s legacy and honor this incredible historical icon that I admire so much. “
Over the years, there has been much speculation about Cleopatra’s race.
In 2008, Egyptologist Sally Ann Ashton of the Fitzwilliam Museum Cambridge told the Daily Mail: “She was probably not just completely European. You have to remember that her family lived in Egypt for 300 years when she came to power. “
In 2020, Kathryn Bard, professor of Archeology and Classical Studies at Boston University, told Newsweek: “Cleopatra VII was white – of Macedonian descent, as were all Ptolemy rulers who lived in Egypt.”
Cleopatra was famous for the late Elizabeth Taylor in the 1963 film directed by Joseph Mankiewicz, which won four Oscars.
Gadot’s version of Cleopatra will be directed by her “Wonder Woman” collaborator Patty Jenkins.
“As you may have heard, I joined @PattyJenks and @LKalogridis to bring the story of Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, to the big screen in a way she had never seen before. To tell your story for the first time through the eyes of women, both behind and in front of the cameras, ”wrote Gadot on Twitter.
“And we are especially excited to announce this on #InternationalDayoftheGirl. We hope that women and girls around the world, who want to tell stories, will never give up on their dreams and make their voices heard by and for other women, ”she added.
Laeta Kalogridis will write the script with Paramount Pictures as a studio after making the winning bid in a fight with Warner Bros., Apple and Netflix, according to Deadline.