Report: Gal Gadot will not do Wonder Woman sequel if accused film producer remains on (update)

Gal Gadot, the star of this year’s Wonder Woman, is refusing to join the sequel due for a December 2019 premiere date if Brett Ratner remains connected to the project, the New York Post reported on Sunday.

Ratner is now alleged to have masturbated in a car seat next to an unnamed model. It’s not the first allegation against Ratner in the ongoing accusations and revelations of sexual misconduct by powerful Hollywood men, some of whom have admitted the allegations. On Nov. 1, the Los Angeles Times reported six women’s allegations, including one of forced oral sex, against Ratner.

A representative denied those allegations, and also the newest one, also reported by the New York Post’s Page Six column. Ratner’s production company, RatPac-Dune Entertainment, was a co-financing partner on the first Wonder Woman and has been a financing partner on the DC Extended Universe films since Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in 2016.

Patty Jenkins, who directed the first Wonder Woman, is directing the sequel. Warner Bros. slated it for a late 2019 premiere back in July. That film grossed more than $800 million globally, more than half of that from domestic screens, making it the highest-grossing live action movie directed by a woman.

The Post quoted an unnamed source in Hollywood who knows Gadot saying the actor backed out of a dinner honoring Ratner last month. Gadot, according to the source, doesn’t believe a movie with themes of women’s empowerment both in the story and in its publicity should be co-financed by a man like Ratner facing accusations of sexual misconduct toward women. Gadot is reportedly insisting that Warner Bros. buy out Ratner’s financing deal, or she won’t sign on.

Gadot will reprise her role as Wonder Woman in Justice League, which premieres on Friday, Nov. 17.

Update: A report from the Los Angeles Times says that the deal between Warner Bros. and Ratner’s company, RatPac-Dune, will come to an end before financing on the Wonder Woman sequel begins. This means that despite Gadot’s stance, RatPac-Dune won’t have anything to do with the movie. The sequel will be released on Nov. 1, 2019, six weeks earlier than expected. Warner Bros. previously announced that the Wonder Woman sequel would be released on Dec. 13, 2019.

Update 2 (Nov. 15, 2017): Gal Gadot confirmed during an interview on Today that Ratner is no longer involved with the project.

“Everyone knew what was the right thing to do, but there was nothing for me to actually come and say because it was already done before this article came out,” Gadot said.

Gadot’s interview can be seen below.