'Wonder Woman' Star Gal Gadot to Play Hedy Lamarr in New Showtime Series

It looks like Gal Gadot may soon be playing a real-life wonder woman.

The Wonder Woman star is reportedly nearing a deal to star in and executive produce a limited series based on the career and life of actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr. According to Deadline Sarah Treem, creator and showrunner for Showtime's The Affair would serve as writer and executive producer on the project while The Handmaid's Tale producer Warren Littlefield would also executive produce.

There are few details about the project at this time, though the report indicated that it has been taken to Showtime due to Treem's relationship with the cable network. In addition to starring, Gadot, along with her husband and producing partner Jaron Varsano will team up with Treem and Littlefield and Endeavor Content is said to be the studio involved.

Lamarr's story is an interesting one. Born in Austria, Lamarr began an acting career in early 1930s Czechoslovakia but fled from her wealthy, ammunition manufacturer husband Friedrich Mandl for Paris. She later met Louis B. Mayer, head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio, in London where he offered her a Hollywood movie contract. Her film career would last into the 1950s.

Off screen, Lamarr developed (along with composer George Antheil) a radio guidance system that used a frequency-hopping signal that would prevent Allied torpedoes from being jammed and set off course during World War 2. Lamarr was granted a patent for the invention and while it wasn't implemented during the war, aspects her work live on today in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi technology.

While it's unclear when this limited series might come to fruition, Gadot is currently filming Wonder Woman 1984, the follow-up to Patty Jenkins' hit 2017 superhero movie, Wonder Woman. The film sees Gadot reprise her role as Princess Diana and will also see Chris Pine return as Steve Trevor while Kristen Wiig serves as the film's villain, Cheetah. Jenkins has previously said that she's looking forward to being able to fully unleash Wonder Woman's power in Wonder Woman 1984.

"The greatest thing about making this movie was the fact that you're really building to the Wonder Woman that we all love, but not until the end of the movie," Jenkins said. "The most exciting thing about [the sequel] is literally seeing her loose in the world now, living those classic stories. Here's Wonder Woman, and what can she do?"

Wonder Woman 1984 is set to hit theaters November 1, 2019. We will provide more information about the Hedy Lamarr series as they become available.