Can't wait to hear about why Gal Gadot's wrong for this role.
Ms. Gadot is in talks to play the female lead, Esther, of Timur Bekmambetov's remake of BEN-HUR: A TALE OF THE CHRIST. Esther is originally Ben-Hur's slave and is arranged to be married to another man, but when the two reunite they become lovers and eventually witness both the Sermon on the Mount and Jesus' death on the cross.
Alongside Jack Huston and Toby Kebbell (not to mention Morgan Freeman), the Israeli-born Gadot is going to look more ethnic than the actors playing Romans and Jews, which sort of makes sense if her character starts as a slave. Interestingly enough, Haya Harareet, the actress who played Esther in the 1959 original, was also of Israeli descent.
Hopefully, the role takes advantages of the actress' permeating sense of toughness and self-confidence, and doesn't relegate her to the sidelines while Ben-Hur and Messala race chariots all day.
BEN-HUR tells a tale of the Christ on February 26th, 2016.
