Let's be clear. With the projected box office success of Wonder Woman and the invaluable wave of good press it's bringing DC Films right now, there's no way WB allows Gal Gadot or Patty Jenkins slip away. However, if you're interested in Hollywood salaries and the current discussion of gender pay disparity in Tinseltown, then the situation bears close watching. In particular, WB opting to wait for reviews and box office results before locking Jenkins under contract has given her agent and management team a great incentive to play hardball. But what about the face of what's arguably become DC Films most important franchise, Gal Gadot?
Back in 2014, the former Miss Israel conducted an interview with a media outlet based in her home country where it was revealed that she had signed on to play Wonder Woman in a 3-picture deal and that each appearance would earn her a relatively paltry, $300,000 USD (or $300,000 for her first role depending upon the Hebrew translation).
Batman-News.com's initial report would later be confirmed by
Variety and
The Hollywood Reporter. Three years later, we now know Gadot's three appearances are
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the solo
Wonder Woman movie and
Justice League. So does that mean that in addition to Jenkins, Gadot is also currently without a contract?
THR's follow up report on Jenkins' contract situation says Gadot has an "
option" for
Wonder Woman 2 (which is not exactly the same as a contract) and with the usually reliable site previously making an error, it's likely they triple-checked their sources before reporting on Gadot's contract status. Fellow Hollywood trade,
The Wrap added on the caveat that Gadot's team i s indeed gearing up for a serious renegotiation. However, a pre-existing option would indicate that WB has greater leverage.
Earlier this year, Oscar-winner
Natalie Portman voiced concerns about the gender pay gap in Hollywood, stating that she earned 3x-less than her co-star Ashton Kutcher for a 2011 romantic comedy. Previous sentiments have been echoed for years by the likes of
Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep and Viola Davis. If accomplished, award-winning actresses of their caliber are struggling for a fair wage, what's a breakout star like Gadot going to command in comparison to her male co-stars in
Justice League? WB certainly had no way to predict that
Wonder Woman would achieve this level of success but Gadot's new salary should certainly reflect the fact that a lot of the audience that heads out to see to the Zack Snyder/Joss Whedon-directed superhero ensemble this November will primarily be coming to see more of her. It's a fortuitous boon for the promising superhero cinematic universe that audiences will only have to wait 5-months to see
Wonder Woman slashing and shield-bashing again on the big screen.
If you've been following the escalating contracts of many of
The Avengers actors, everyone not named Robert Downey Jr. started out earning in the single-digit millions. After the blockbuster success of the first group outing for
Earth's Mightiest Heroes, their salaries were all exponentially increased. As the
DC Film Universe undergoes a similar expansion effort, salary's will also likely increase accordingly. While veteran actors Ben Affleck and Will Smith will likely be the largest salary earners, where should Gal Gadot fall in the rankings? If
Wonder Woman goes on to outperform Man of Steel (which cost about $75 million more to make), should Gadot earn more than Henry Cavill?
As with any occupation, you're typically paid based on your experience and the skills you can lend towards accomplishing a specific task. Plainly speaking, movie studios want actors that can convince moviegoers to spend their hard-earned money - i.e. profitability is what governs their decision-making. And if Gadot proves she has the charisma to accomplish this goal better than some of her other male co-stars then she should be compensated accordingly, certainly more than $300,000 USD.