Cleopatra: Gal Gadot’s Film Will Now Be Directed By ‘Falcon & The Winter Soldier’ Director

‘Cleopatra’, starring Gal Gadot has just swapped its directors, delaying the much-anticipated reunion of Gadot and Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins. While Jenkins was earlier slated to helm the historical film, it was recently reported by Deadline that Jenkins will now be stepping back into the role of a producer rather, focusing on her other projects. Talking about the void created by Jenkins, as to who would direct the film, don’t worry – Kari Skogland will be taking over the director’s chair.

Cleopatra Will Now Be Directed By Kari Skogland

Best known for directing all the six episodes of Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+, Skogland rose to prominence with some independent films. Although the Disney+ service is for the TV screens, the six-hour-long Falcon and the Winter Soldier had a scope comparable to most Marvel cinematic films that came before it. In its runtime of about six hours, there was absolutely no shortage of either intense action or either globetrotting. Cleopatra’s story isn’t something that’s not well known by people, regarding who actually she was. This story will not be known for comic book heroics or explosions, however, a film following Egypt’s most famous ruler obviously promises a lot of drama within.

Talking more about Skogland, she seems up for the task after doing some impressive independent films like “Men with Guns” and “The Size of Watermelons” and even went on to helm the Ben Kingsley crime thriller titled “Fifty Dead Men Walking” in 2008. Her most impressive resume goes on to relate to TV where she has directed episodes of The Walking Dead, The Handmaids’ Tale and Boardwalk Empire, Penny Dreadful and The Americans, and many, many more.

Why did Patty Jenkins Back off from Cleopatra?

Jenkins has had a busy schedule lately while becoming a popular subject lately. Her film, “Star Wars: Rogue Squadron” was taken off the LucasFilm productions last month, with the production citing her previous commitment as a conflict. The pre-production for the film, Cleopatra, will begin this very year, with its filming to set to kickstart in 2022. Although she remains attached to the delayed film, no other details have been yet revealed. Jenkins will serve as a producer in Cleopatra but will now focus more on her other upcoming projects like Rogue Squadron and Wonder Woman 3. The filming for Wonder Woman 3 is expected to begin in 2023, as Gal Gadot will be busy filming Snow White and Cleopatra in 2022.

What do we know about Cleopatra so far?

Starring Israeli actress Gal Gadot as the lead role, Cleopatra has received some angry backlash by some fans due to the somewhat controversial casting decision around the film distributed by Paramount Films.

Here’s what Gadot has responded with:

“I have friends from across the globe, whether they’re Muslims or Christian or Catholic or atheist or Buddhist, or Jewish of course… People are people, and with me I want to celebrate the legacy of Cleopatra and honour this amazing historic icon that I admire so much… You know, anybody can make this movie, and anybody can go ahead and do it. I’m very passionate that I’m going to do my own too.”

Written by Laeta Kalogridis, this biographical drama has sparked interest from various studios like Universal, Apple, Netflix, and Warner Bros before Paramount won it out. Exact details have been kept under strict wraps, for now, however, there is still plenty of room to foresee what’s next, as Cleopatra still happens to be one of the most popular figures in history.

Daughter of Ptolemy and an ancestor of the leader of the army of Alexander the Great, Cleopatra eventually went on to become one of the most known rulers of Egypt. She had quite a complicated relationship with Rome and its figures like Marc Antony and even Julius Caesar – and has also been an interest of Hollywood a lot of times before. However, this isn’t her first portrayal onscreen. She has been played before by Elizabeth Taylor in a 1963 film that well, nearly ended a Hollywood studio, and also in 1934, played by Claudette Colbert.