Originally published January 7, 2016. Updated April 15, 2018.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has been surrounded by casting controversy, with the film getting a lot of Internet hate for Ben Affleck as Batman and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. The latter of the two brought about a lot of bile from fans of the comic, who feel that she didn’t have the physical presence to pull off the role. But director Zack Snyder is sticking to his guns, and has explained by she got the part.
“We tested a bunch of actresses, as you can imagine,” Snyder told Film Ink, noting that six other actors were up for the role. “But the thing with Gal is that she’s strong, she’s beautiful, and she’s a kind person, which is interesting, but fierce at the same time. It’s that combination of being fierce but kind at the same time that we were looking for. She can get serious, but she’s amazingly fun to be around. And by the way, she really held her own with Ben in the screen test. Ben was like, ‘Whoa, that girl is something else!’ That was a good sign, because Ben is very tough in the scene, and he’s big and commanding. Anytime that you’re doing a test like that and you’re looking at the other person, you’re thinking, ‘Okay, that’s good stuff.’ That was part of the process, and over time as we got to know Gal, we found out how amazing she is.”
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Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is set for release on March 25th 2016 and sees Zack Snyder directing a cast that includes returning Man of Steel stars Henry Cavill (Superman), Amy Adams (Lois Lane), Diane Lane (Martha Kent), Laurence Fishburne (Perry White), Harry Lennix (General Swanwick) and Christina Wren (Carrie Farris) alongside Ben Affleck (Argo) as Batman, Gal Gadot (Fast & Furious 6) as Wonder Woman, Jason Momoa (Game of Thrones) as Aquaman, Ray Fisher as Cyborg, Jesse Eisenberg (Now You See Me) as Lex Luthor, Jeremy Irons (The Borgias) as Alfred Pennyworth and Jena Malone (Sucker Punch), Holly Hunter (The Piano), Tao Okamoto (The Wolverine) as Mercy Graves and Callan Mulvey (300: Rise of an Empire) and Scoot McNairy (Argo).
