All’s well that ends well, right? That’s the saying that you’ve probably heard a million times before. Basically, the sentiment is that it doesn’t matter how you got to the end result, as long as everyone is happy when it’s resolved. Well, in the case of Gal Gadot and her contract negotiation for “Wonder Woman 1984,” it appears that the actress was willing to gamble her role in the franchise and derail Warner Bros.’ plans if she wasn’t given a significant pay raise.
Speaking to Elle, Gal Gadot talked about how she has become a vocal advocate for herself over the years, and specifically, how she was willing to risk it all to make sure she was given a fair contract for “Wonder Woman 1984,” after the first ‘WW’ film earned nearly $1 billion at the global box office.
At the time of her contract negotiations for “Wonder Woman” years ago, the actress explains that she “was extremely grateful. That was my big break.” And because of being new and relatively unknown, her pay was reportedly only $300,000.
However, after “Wonder Woman” became a phenomenon, Gadot went back to WB with a higher pay demand. And she knew that this time, she held all the cards, so to speak.
“If you look at it like a card game, my hand got better. I was willing to drop the ball and not do it if I wasn’t paid fairly,” she explained.
Of course, it’s not clear how much her pay increased, but it’s reported that her pay was increased by more than 30x the original film’s rate. And when Galdot was asked if she was ever concerned about playing hardball with the studio over the pay increase, the actress was unapologetic.
“No, because when I’m righteous, I’m also right,” said Gadot.
Obviously, people have their own thoughts about how the end result turned out, as “Wonder Woman 1984” didn’t do nearly the box office of the original film (the pandemic played a large part in that, no doubt) and fan/critic sentiment was mixed-at-best (with many saying it was a terrible film). However, you can’t deny that Gadot was worth every penny, as she has clearly become one of the biggest stars on the planet and is undeniably Wonder Woman for an entire generation of fans.
Her newest film, “Red Notice,” arrives on Netflix on November 12.