Warner Bros. Pictures has denied a report in Page Six that indicates that actress Gal Gadot is refusing to sign on for the Wonder Woman sequel unless the first film’s producer Brett Ratner is completely removed from the franchise.
Ratner’s production company, RatPac-Dune Entertainment, helped produce the first film as part of its co-financing deal with Warner Bros. Pictures with Ratner’s company will take a healthy share of the profits. An insider tells the trade:
“Brett made a lot of money from the success of ‘Wonder Woman,’ thanks to his company having helped finance the first movie. Now Gadot is saying she won’t sign for the sequel unless Warner Bros. buys Brett out [of his financing deal] and gets rid of him… she’s tough and stands by her principles. She also knows the best way to hit people like Brett Ratner is in the wallet. She also knows that Warner Bros. has to side with her on this issue as it develops. They can’t have a movie rooted in women’s empowerment being part-financed by a man accused of sexual misconduct against women.”
Gadot last month backed out of a dinner honoring Ratner where she was due to present him with an award, that backing out was thought to be the first indicator of the scandal that subsequently broke which saw Ratner hit with multiple sexual-harassment allegations leveled by actresses like Olivia Munn and Natasha Henstridge.
Ratner has vehemently denied the allegations through his attorney Marty Singer. Reps for Gadot and Ratner did not comment, while the Warners rep simply said: “False.” Indeed it has been reported several times that Gadot was already signed for the sequel months ago, while Warners indicated earlier this month they were severing all ties with RatPac Entertainment.
