Gal Gadot In Early Talks For Ben-Hur Female Lead

Gal Gadot is not going to put her new Wonder Woman physique to waste. After she finishes up shooting Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, THR reports that the actress may hop aboard MGM’s Ben-Hur remake. At this stage the actress is in early talks with the studio, who are keen to unleash their biblical sandal reboot on a new generation of filmgoers in the next eighteen months.

So far, the casting slate is filling up nicely, with a mixed roster of Hollywood lookers as well as a seasoned veteran thrown in to equal out the eye candy. Leading the charge against the perils of slavery will be Jack Huston as Judah Ben-Hur, a noble Jewish prince who’s conned into slavery by his supposed best friend, Messala. That villainous part has been nabbed by Toby Kebbell, who’s primed to be somewhat of a go-to badboy after his performances in Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, and Fox’s Fantastic Four reboot.  Elsewhere, Morgan Freeman will crop up as Ildarin, a supportive teacher for Ben-Hur, who’ll educate him in the ways of chariot racing. There’s no doubt he’ll be spouting a series of motivational platitudes.

So, where does Gadot fit into this rugby scrum of a cast? Should she bag the part, she’ll be in line to play “Esther, a slave with whom Ben-Hur is in love.” It’d be a pleasant change if she played a badass vixen who schools Ben-Hur in growing a pair, but we get it – he’s got to have the love of a good woman to rise above. We can but hope that she’ll carry over some ass-whuppin’ residue from BvS!

Timur Bekmambetov is set to direct the epic from a script by 12 Years A Slave’s John Ridley and The Way Back‘s Keith Clarke. If the casting slate continues in this fashion, MGM’s re-telling of the 1959 epic is going to be a very attractive affair.

Ben-Hur is scheduled for release in February 2016.