Fast & Furious veteran Gal Gadot was recently annouced as cinema's first fully-fledged Amazonian extraordinaire, Princess Diana of Themyscira, who you might know best as Wonder Woman. She'll be part of Zack Snyder's DC superhero mash-up due out in 2015, tentatively called - by the internet, at any rate - Batman Vs. Superman, if only because we've been promised some Supes (Henry Cavill) on Bats (Ben Affleck) battles.
Speaking to an Israeli journalist (as picked up by Batman-news.com) in her native Hebrew, Gadot was keen to defend her casting, which has been causing some consternation amongst die-hard fans of the original comics. Here, translated, is what she had to say:
Where were you when you heard the news that you’d been cast as Wonder Woman?
"I was just on my way to shooting in Los Angeles. I landed in New York on a connection flight when my agent, Hadas Lichtenstein, called me. She says to me, 'Wonder Woman!' And I’m like, 'What?' 'The role is yours! And it’s a secret and the news is not yet announced and you can’t tell anyone...'"
"I’m saying to her, 'Are you serious?' Then we both scream! Now I'm on a plane from Israel to New York and I can’t make loud noises, and so I lean on a window, bending down to my legs, and just try to understand it all."
***It’s been said that you’re too skinny for the part. Wonder Woman is large-breasted, is that going to change? ***
"Hmm. I represent the Wonder Woman of the new world. Breasts… anyone can buy for 9000 shekels and everything is fine. By the way, Wonder Woman is Amazonian, and historically accurate Amazonian women actually had only one breast. So, if I’d really go 'by the book', it’d be problematic."
***So you’re not going to gain a little weight and start eating carbs before filming begins? ***
"It’s the physical preparations that I’m starting now. A very serious training regimen – Kung Fu, kickboxing, swords, jujutsu... I’ll gain body mass."
The rather blunt journalist didn't really dance around the problem most fans have with Gadot in the role: her physique. Fortunately, the actress was more than willing to stand her ground, and as Batman Vs. Superman isn't out until 2015 - and it's not clear how big a part Gadot will have in proceedings - there'll be a decent wait to see how things pan out.
And if you happen to speak Hebrew, here's the interview in full below.