There was never going to be a completely painless way to break up the old DC group. Warner Bros.’ DC Extended Universe probably needed to be torn apart completely to make room for James Gunn and Peter Safran’s brand-new DCU. We almost certainly needed a clean break from actors like Ben Affleck (Batman) and Henry Cavill (Superman), if only to convince audiences that this was a real reboot. The question, which Gal Gadot may have been thinking about this week, is why some supporting players from the old universe were quietly kept in the new one while others were left behind in the wreckage.
Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Gadot, who starred in two solo Wonder Woman movies directed by Patty Jenkins, said that nobody at DC Studios ever officially told her she had been let go. One moment, Gadot says, she was being told by Gunn and Safran that they would work with her on a third movie; the next, she was watching in growing concern as the entire structure of the previous DC universe was blown apart. “They were like, ‘We’re going to develop it with you, the third one,'” she said. “But I saw how everyone else was treated, right? And I, you know – the Henry [Cavill] situation was unfortunate. I was caught in the middle of that. The Henry situation wasn’t handled well, to say the least. Same with Patty – it wasn’t handled well.”
Most people would agree Gadot has a fair point here, even though sources close to DC Studios told Variety at the time that no clear promises were ever made to her. Cavill was brought back by the previous DC leadership for a cameo at the end of the 2022 Dwayne Johnson superhero movie Black Adam, and was even encouraged to announce publicly that he was Superman again – only for Gunn and Safran to tell him a few weeks later that they were recasting the role. Jenkins submitted a treatment for Wonder Woman 3 that the studio rejected as the new DCU took shape, and later had to deny reports that she had walked away from the project. Given all that, it’s no surprise Gadot decided the signs were clear and moved on to other work, though she says she holds no hard feelings. “I feel like we’re all adults and it’s all good,” she told the podcast. “It’s not even about them. They’re there to do what they believe in.”
There’s a lot to dig into here, especially because Gadot’s Wonder Woman was one of the few major box office and critical hits in Warner Bros.’ previous DC universe. If there was room in the new DCU for John Cena’s Peacemaker, who carried over into a second TV season in the new reality, and even Xolo Maridueña’s Blue Beetle (who will now appear in the upcoming Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow), why was there no room for the actor who led 2017’s Wonder Woman, the old regime’s best-received film? The simple answer is that DC’s main trio – Cavill’s Superman, Affleck’s Batman, and Gadot’s Wonder Woman – were the central faces of the old Zack Snyder-led DC universe. Dropping all three made it clear Gunn was building his own world, while keeping lesser-known characters didn’t threaten the new direction.
Gadot may also have been affected by the lukewarm response to 2020’s Wonder Woman 1984, although its box office numbers are almost meaningless because it came out during the pandemic and was also available on HBO Max at the same time. In any case, one average sequel shouldn’t have made Gadot herself completely unusable, and probably wouldn’t have if the entire DC cinematic universe hadn’t been torn apart around her.
There’s also the continuity issue. Keeping the old universe’s Wonder Woman while replacing its BatmanSuperman might have confused audiences and made the new universe feel like a rushed fix. Yet Peacemaker season two has already shown Gunn’s willingness to rewrite inconvenient history and expect everyone to move on. The studio chief has left the door open for Margot Robbie to return as Harley Quinn, though there are currently few signs she will.
So what really sets the two DC realities apart, other than the new one offering a convenient excuse to drop superheroes that weren’t connecting with audiences? Is David Corenswet’s Kal-El truly more compelling than Cavill’s? Will the upcoming Batman film, The Brave and the Bold, finally give us a Dark Knight who can team up with other heroes without spending the first hour trying to kill one of them and the second demanding to know his mother’s first name?
For now, the only iron rule of Gunn’s new universe seems to be that continuity is endlessly flexible, as long as you were already in his contacts when the apocalypse hit. Gadot, despite leading one of the old regime’s few clear successes, apparently wasn’t. That might be a perfectly reasonable way to rebuild a superhero franchise; it’s much harder to explain why no one thought to tell Wonder Woman.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of FAQs addressing the confusion and speculation surrounding Gal Gadots departure from the role of Wonder Woman
General Background Questions
1 Wait is Gal Gadot actually fired Or is she just not making the movie
Its more accurate to say shes been shelved She hasnt been fired for cause but the studio has decided not to move forward with Wonder Woman 3 or any current projects featuring her version of the character Her contract has effectively expired without renewal
2 I thought Wonder Woman was a huge success Why would they get rid of her
Youre right that the first Wonder Woman was a massive critical and commercial hit However the sequel Wonder Woman 1984 was a major disappointment More importantly the new studio leadership is doing a complete reboot of the DC universe meaning they want to start fresh with new actors for all the major heroes to tell one cohesive story
3 Is this because of James Gunn and Peter Safran
Yes directly When they took over DC Studios they announced a new 810 year plan called Chapter One Gods and Monsters They decided that the old disconnected DC Extended Universe was too messy and that a clean slate was needed Gal Gadots Wonder Woman was part of the old universe so she was left behind
4 Did Gal Gadot do something wrong or have a scandal
No There is no evidence of any misconduct or personal drama She has publicly stated that she was told by Gunn and Safran that there is simply no place for her character in their new plans It was a creative and strategic decision not a personal one
The Why and The Politics of It All
5 Why not just keep Gal Gadot and reboot everyone else She was the one thing people liked
That was a popular argument from fans However Gunn and Safran wanted a single unified timeline If they kept Gadot they would have to explain why her character exists but Superman Batman and everyone else are new actors They felt it was cleaner and less confusing for general audiences to cast a new Wonder Woman alongside
