Here's How Much Money Gal Gadot Is Making For Wonder Woman 1984
Gal Gadot is a huge part of the roaring success that was the first-ever female-lead comic book film, and she's getting a huge pay raise for the sequel as a result.
Wonder Woman was easily Gadot's biggest film at the time she was cast in the role, but the Israeli actress brought life to the raw strength of the Amazonian warrior on the big screen. Following the poorly received (and mistake-ridden) Suicide Squad in 2016, Gadot's portrayal of Diana Prince in 2017's Wonder Woman breathed life back into the DC cinematic universe.
After Gadot took home a reported $300,000 for the first Wonder Woman, the second installment, Wonder Woman 1984, will earn her far more money. Just how much? Well, get ready to be wrapped up in Diana Prince's Lasso of Truth: we've got the answer.
Gal Gadot's taking home a wonderful paycheck for Wonder Woman 1984
According to Variety, Warner Bros. paid Gal Gadot a whopping $10 million for her leading role in Wonder Woman 1984. That payday puts Gadot among the top earners in film for 2019 and 2020 releases, drawing level with Margot Robbie's check for 2020's Birds of Prey and Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio's salaries for 2019's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Only seven actors in Hollywood earned more for a single film shot this year (some of which will, like Wonder Woman 1984, be released next year). Emily Blunt for A Quiet Place 2 ($12-13 million), Tom Cruise for Top Gun: Maverick ($12-14 million), Jason Statham for Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw ($13 million), Will Smith for Bad Boys For Life ($17 million), Robert Downey Jr. for The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle ($20 million), Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson for Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw ($20 million), and Ryan Reynolds for Six Underground ($27 million).
Gadot first debuted her version of Wonder Woman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, flying in to assist Bats and Supes in their big final battle. Her solo movie was released in June 2017, making her the first to smash that glass ceiling as a female comic book lead. Gadot reprised the role in the crossover film Justice League later that year, which dismally failed to meet the expectations of DC fans and became one of the biggest box office bombs of the decade. Fortunately for the actress, the disappointment didn't cloud her own character, with Wonder Woman 1984 announced shortly after the launch of Justice League.
The women came to the negotiating table, and walked away with a fortune
Sadly, Gadot's paycheck for her first three film appearances as Wonder Woman didn't quite match up to what her co-stars were earning. Movie Web reports that Gadot's contract with Warner Bros. meant she would only earn $300,000 for her first three movies with the studio. After appearing in Justice League, that contract was officially up for the Amazonian, and she clearly went to the negotiating table to get a slight (read: enormous) pay raise.
Gadot isn't the only one getting a major salary increase for Wonder Woman 1984. Director Patty Jenkins, who steered the ship for the first film as well, will take home $9 million from the second installment. Though it's not quite the same percentage increase as Gadot's, Jenkins' pay for Wonder Woman 1984 is still significantly higher than the reported $3 million she pocketed for the first film.
It's believed that both Gadot and Jenkins used the success of the first film as (very justifiable) leverage for their raises. Both women will likely earn even more than what has been agreed to anyway, with their contracts allowing for bonuses based on the film's financial success.
Unexpected returns for Wonder Woman 1984
Set for a summer 2020 release, the upcoming Wonder Woman sequel will be a period piece, but still much closer to 2019 than the first installment's World War I setting. Wonder Woman 1984 is set in America, and has a different story to tell for Diana. Some footage appears to show Diana fighting inside the White House, so it's anyone's guess what the latest threat she's battling is.
And there's another surprise for fans: Gadot won't be the only one reprising her role, as Diana's love interest Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) is apparently going to prove that dead doesn't actually mean dead in comic book movies. But it isn't just puzzling that Steve seemingly died in the first Wonder Woman and is coming back for Wonder Woman 1984 – it's also bizarre that his presumed death happened about 70 years prior to the sequel's date. Despite the fact that he should be quite old (if not dead anyway) by now, footage from the Wonder Woman sequel is said to show him still kicking butt next to the demigoddess.
Given said time jump, it's unlikely many other characters from the first film will be making a return for the sequel — unless the DCEU has somehow found the fountain of youth. So far, things are being kept tightly under wraps, but Gadot made certain to reassure fans with an Instagram post of her in her Wonder Woman uniform when filming started in June 2018.
Catch Wonder Woman 1984 in theaters on June 5, 2020.