Gal Gadot Cheers On ‘Wonder Woman’ Director’s Sequel Pay Raise

Patty Jenkins is returning for Wonder Woman 2, and star Gal Gadot couldn’t be happier the director is getting a big raise to do it.

Jenkins will be getting somewhere in the $7 to $9 million range for Wonder Woman 2, a deal that will make her the highest paid female filmmaker ever. Her star actress Gadot has been rooting for her since negotiations started, and feels that Jenkins more than deserves money.

“She is definitely paving the way for so many other female directors,” Gadot told Variety. “I think it was very important that she fought to get the best deal. You got to walk the walk and talk the talk.”

The negotiations took around 3 months, something that was rather surprising. Many figured the studio would wrap that up quickly and get things moving on the sequel, but Jenkins had to fight to make sure that she was getting paid what a male director in the same position would receive.

“You’re of course aware of the money,” Jenkins said “But I’ve never been more aware of a duty than I was in this deal. I was extremely aware that I had to make sure I was being paid what the male equivalent would be.”

Things don’t change unless you challenge them, and for Jenkins, the time to do that in Hollywood was now.

“Women who have not been in a system that allows them to build up the same level of pay as men are not able to be paid the same as men forever if that’s the way it continues,” Jenkins said. “You have to ask for it to happen, and you have to ask when you’re the appropriate person.”

Jenkins former lead star Charlize Theron experienced the same thing after their movie Monster, a film she won an Oscar for. “I knew when Charlize had to do it on ‘Snow White and the Huntsman,’ and I felt that it was my job to do it here,” Jenkins said.

Thanks to Wonder Woman’s success, the sequel has become one of (if not the most) anticipated film in DC’s slate, even overtaking The Batman film from Matt Reeves. The good news is that the right person is in the director’s chair, and fans can rest easy knowing the film is in the right hands.