Gal Gadot's Cleopatra Movie Will Now Be Helmed By Falcon And Winter Soldier Director
Gal Gadot's "Cleopatra" just swapped directors, delaying the still-to-come reunion of Gadot and "Wonder Woman" director Patty Jenkins. Though she was previously attached to direct the historical epic, Deadline reports that Jenkins will now step back into a producer role, pivoting to focus on other upcoming projects. As for the empty directors chair, worry not, because Kari Skogland is set to take over filmmaking duties.
Skogland is best known for helming all six episodes of the Marvel Disney+ series, "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier." Though the streaming series is reserved for TV screens, the six-hour epic had a scope comparable to the many Marvel tentpoles that came before. In its six hour runtime, there was no shortage of either globetrotting or intense superhero action. The story of Cleopatra isn't exactly known for explosions or comic book heroics, but a film following Egypts famous ruler certainly promises much epic drama.
Skogland seems more than up to the task; she rose to prominence with independent films ("The Size of Watermelons," "Men With Guns") and went on to direct the 2008 Ben Kinglsey crime thriller, "Fifty Dead men Walking." Most impressive is her television resume, which includes episodes of "The Handmaid's Tale," "The Walking Dead," "Boardwalk Empire," "The Americans, "Penny Dreadful," and many, many more.
As for the previously slated director Patty Jenkins, her hectic production schedule has been a popular subject lately. Last month, her "Star Wars: Rogue Squadron" film was taken off the LucasFilms production schedule, citing her previous commitments as a conflict. Pre-production was set to begin this year, with filming to kick-off in 2022. Though she remains attached to the delayed film, no further details have followed. As producer, Jenkins will remain involved in "Cleopatra," but will reportedly focus on her upcoming projects, "Wonder Woman 3" and "Rogue Squadron." Notably, shooting for the third "Wonder Woman" isn't expected to start until 2023, at earliest, as Gadot is committed to filming both "Cleopatra" and "Snow White" in 2022.
What We Know About Cleopatra So Far
"Cleopatra" will star Israeli actress Gal Gadot in the titular role, a somewhat controversial casting decision that led to some angry chatter around the Paramount film. In response, Gadot has responded:
"I have friends from across the globe, whether they're Muslims or Christian or Catholic or atheist or Buddhist, or Jewish of course... People are people, and with me I want to celebrate the legacy of Cleopatra and honour this amazing historic icon that I admire so much... You know, anybody can make this movie, and anybody can go ahead and do it. I'm very passionate that I'm going to do my own too."
The biographical drama is penned by Laeta Kalogridis, with the project initially sparking interest from several studios (Apple, Universal, Warner Bros. and Netflix) before Paramount won out. So far, exact details of the plot have been kept under wraps. Still, theres plenty of room to imagine what's to come — Cleopatra is one of the most famous people in ancient history.
She was the daughter of Ptolemy, ancestor of the leader of Alexander the Great's army, and eventually went on to become one of Egypts most famous rulers. Her complicated relationship with Rome, and its famous figures — including both Julius Caesar and Marc Antony — has been the subject of Hollywood interest plenty of times before. Cleopatra has previously been portrayed by Claudette Colbert in 1934 and Elizabeth Taylor in 1963, in a film that nearly wiped out a Hollywood studio. So far, shuffling directors is considerably less dramatic... but whose to say where the story goes from here?