‘We were saved’: Gal Gadot passing on the role of a lifetime that would’ve changed the shape of cinema leaves fans thanking the movie gods

In Hollywood, the planets have to be aligned to produce a mass hit the size of Barbie. After it’s all said and done, there’s no denying Margot Robbie was made for the role, but the movie could have gone many different ways, including featuring another screen beauty as the lead.

Gal Gadot would have been cast as the famous doll, if producer Margot Robbie had had her way. Robbie offered the role to the Israeli actress, according to her Vogue cover story from back in May of last year, believing her to have “Barbie energy,” thanks to the balance between her “impossible beauty” and her genuine sincerity. According to the same article, the Wonder Woman actress wasn’t available and, after Greta Gerwig came on board, she insisted there was only one woman for the job and that was Robbie.

Can you imagine Barbie with Gadot instead of the Australian star? The internet has and they weren’t very keen on the results. The 38-year-old hasn’t been enjoying much popularity among younger audiences since her performance in Wonder Woman 1984 left many questioning her acting abilities and her vocal pro-Israel stance in the Gazan conflict made her an even more divisive public figure.

Even among those whose personal opinion of Gal Gadot isn’t as fervent, the majority are in agreement that Robbie was the perfect casting. The true “Stereotypical Barbie.”

While Barbie would not have been the phenomenon it was without Margot, as long as it had Gerwig attached, it would have still been a great film with Gadot that could have potentially revived her moribund career. The actress hasn’t been making great choices lately, with repeated poorly received titles in recent years the likes of Red Notice, Death on the Nile, and Heart of Stone, but she doesn’t hold any grudges against the Barbie crew and had nothing but kind words for the producer and actor who envisioned her for what could have been the role of a lifetime.

“Margot is one of those women who you just want to be friends with. She brings so much to the table. I would love to do anything with Margot and was very touched [by her comments]. She warmed my heart with everything that she said about me. I’m super excited for them, and I’m so excited for Barbie,” Gadot told Flaunt magazine in August of 2023.

In the pipeline for Gadot are the live-action Snow White, an Irena Sendler World War II biopic, the star-studded drama In the Hand of Dante, a Red Notice sequel, and the controversial Cleopatra. None hold a candle to Barbie, but maybe Mattel and Warner Bros. will pair up for a Brunette Barbie movie in the future.