Gal Gadot Blasts Gender-Swapped Action Heroines
'Heart of Stone' star states the obvious about male, female differences
If Kathleen Kennedy has her way, Phoebe Waller-Bridge will be cracking Indy’s whip sooner than later.
The Disney executive teased a new “Indiana Jones” adventure starring the “Fleabag” alum, who emasculates Harrison Ford’s character in the saga’s fifth film out June 30.
It’s what movie geeks feared ever since we got our first glimpse of “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.”
Another gender-swapped icon in the grand woke tradition.
Now, one of Hollywood’s biggest stars is speaking out about gender-swapped action heroines. And she might have to fend off the woke mob as a result.
Gal Gadot knows of what she speaks.
She’s played Wonder Woman in multiple DC outings, including two solo films. She’s also got her hands dirty in five “Fast & Furious” films, the Netflix original “Red Notice” and the streamer’s upcoming “Heart of Stone.”
The actress told Total Film that, while she loves being an action star, she prefers playing original characters than recycle existing IPs. That’s a kind way of saying she’d rather not watch Waller-Bridge take the franchise baton from Ford.
“I wanted to show a great story about a female character who is doing it in the action genre. Right? She is thriving. But at the same time, how many times have they just switched gender? They take a story that all about the men and they just change it to a woman, and then go shoot it? To me, it was so important in the DNA to make Heart of Stone a little different, because men and women are different. They’re built differently, they operate differently.”
She’s right, but it’s a lesson Hollywood keeps ignoring. Too many female action heroines act as if they’re men – strong, brave and resolute but without any of the intrinsic qualities that make women … women.
We’re even told the next James Bond must be a woman to strike a blow against the PatriarchyTM. Or something.
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A great example of the opposite approach? Ellen Ripley.
Sigourney Weaver’s iconic character saved the day multiple times in the “Alien” franchise. You never forgot she was a woman, though, especially during “Aliens.” The character’s maternal instincts made the 1986 film one of the best sequels in film history.
Those qualities are often forgotten by modern screenwriters, uneasy with making female heroes feminine in any traditional sense. It doesn’t help to see rail-thin actresses beating up men roughly double their size.
Gadot knows better. Perhaps a few Hollywood suits will listen to what she has to say.
HER STATEMENT SAID NOTHING ABOUT INDIANA JONES and in fact COULD NOT HAVE INCLUDED INDIANA JONES in the statement!!!! Waller Bridges character IS NOT GENDER SWAPPING ANYTHING. She is taking over from Indy she isn’t going to BE Indy. I have no desire to watch non super powered female action ANYTHING but you ideologues are pretty stupid and only see what you want to see!!
Keep sucking Keith, keep sucking.
yes it is gender swapping its what they have done out right produced piss poor films strune with constant racism against whites and even more misandry than you can shake a stick at. They have done it with Ghost busters, Bill and ted, even films like salt was meant to be a male character, battle star Galactica, Starbuck was gender swapped, in the Witcher not only do we have gender swapping but we have straight characters being twisted to the mental patient queers! star wars was a typical destroy an iconic character to elevate a Mary sue character with an actress with as much talent as a steaming pile of brown stuff and not to mention the race swapping. and well we get on to all the marvel films lots of swap outs there! how about make something original and write good films instead of these agenda ridden pieces of crap! oh atomic blonde was absolute garbage!
I’ll be skipping the new Indiana Jones movie. And the ones following.
Why? Don’t let this site tell you how to think. Think for yourself and go to the movie. You get to decide whether or not you like the film. You may end up disagreeing with Hollywood in Toto.
@Ben: I had already decided against seeing before I read this column.
The series should have ended with “Crusade”. I would have voted to just keep “Raiders” and “Crusade” as “Temple” stunk (although not as bad as “Skull”.
Don’t let me stop you from seeing it, though.
@Rob: Ditto.
Gal Gadot makes good points, but the question is “Will audiences support original films with female leads at the box office?”
It speaks volumes that Gadot’s Heart of Stone will be released on streaming instead of movie theaters. That’s because it would likely tank at the box office due to being snubbed by audiences. The only female led action films that have done well are based on superhero comic books like Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel, and Black Widow.
You make a good point. I suppose it’d depend on the movie in question. Aliens, which was basically an “Ellen Ripley” action movie in most ways did well in the theatres. Terminator 2, which at least in part was a “Sarah Connor” action film did well in theatres. But then, that was back when Hollywood writers weren’t lazy and didn’t think that “woman in an action film” automatically meant “make her fight and act just like a man would in that situation.” Ripley and Connor were both very believably female leads in action oriented films. Too bad Hollywood can’t seem to do that anymore.
Unlike horror, fans of action movies nowadays seem averse to supporting anything new. So, they will flock to another Tomb Raider reboot, but skip over an original action film even if it were really good.
Resident Evil, Underworld…
Absolutely agree with the part about rail thin women beating up guys twice their size. I am so tired of a 120lb woman rendering three or four large, supposedly combat trained men unconscious in some hallway. I think C. Theron did an admirable job in Atomic Blond and it was mostly believable. Most are just ridiculous.
You’re right. Atomic Blonde is a good example of how they can make an action movie centered on a woman believable. I think I remember Theron taking exactly one punch to the face from a big dude in that movie that didn’t seem to faze her. Which, of course, would’ve knocked her on her ass. But aside from that, they did a good job of her mostly avoiding getting hit and using the environment to her advantage to slow down and take down the big dudes she was fighting. I’m not saying it’s perfect, but it was WAY more believable an action flick centered on a woman than most of them are these days (like say the Charlie’s Angels remake recently).
ARE YOU JOKING?? ITs all nonsense! it has caused so much harm! I have taught martial arts for years and the amount of women now who think they can win in a fight against a man is scary what even more scary is instead of using the flight instant they fight and get very hurt!
these films are all agenda ridden rubbish. strune with anti white male agendas. this film shows typically the while man being the evil trigger happy moron even the titular character being upstaged!