Gal Gadot has revealed that DC Studios never formally informed her that she had been dropped from her role as Wonder Woman. Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Gadot, who starred in two solo Wonder Woman movies, said she had been assured by James Gunn and Peter Safran that a third film would be developed with her.
Gadot observed the handling of other actors, stating, "The Henry [Cavill] situation was unfortunate. I was in the middle of that. The Henry situation was not handled elegantly, to say the least. Same with Patty – it was not handled elegantly." Sources close to DC Studios reportedly told Variety that no outright promises were made to Gadot.
The decision to remove Gadot, whose Wonder Woman was a critical and box office success for the previous DC universe, has been questioned. While Ben Affleck's Batman and Henry Cavill's Superman were also recast, some supporting characters like John Cena's Peacemaker and Xolo Maridueña's Blue Beetle have been retained in the new DCU.
Gadot's 2020 sequel, Wonder Woman 1984, received a lukewarm reception, though its box-office performance was impacted by its pandemic release and simultaneous HBO Max debut. There is also the potential issue of continuity, as keeping the old Wonder Woman while recasting Batman and Superman could have caused audience confusion.