From superhero to producer: Gal Gadot signs on to Fidel Castro drama

Gal Gadot is trading in her sword for a pen.

The Israeli actress is set to produce — and perhaps star — in the Cuba-centered journalism drama, “My Dearest Fidel.”

According to Variety, Gadot partnered with former Warner Bros. executive Sue Kroll and her husband, Jaron Varsano, to produce the film based on Peter Kornbluh’s April 21 Politico article, “My Dearest Fidel: A journalist’s secret liaison with Fidel Castro.”  Kroll and Gadot first worked together in last year’s superhero blockbuster, “Wonder Woman.”

News of the collaboration came along with the announcement that Warner Bros. acquired the exclusive movie rights to the story under Kroll’s production company, Kroll & Kroll Co. Entertainment.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Narcos co-creator Chris Brancato will write the screen adaptation of the article.

The article’s made-for-screen narrative follows the true story of how ABC journalist Lisa Howard, born Dorothy Jean Guggenheim to a Jewish family in Ohio, formed an “intimate” diplomatic relationship with Cuba’s leader Fidel Castro which “changed the course of the Cold War,” according to Kornbluh’s article.

According to Deadline, “Howard was ABC’s first full-time female reporter and the first woman to anchor her own TV news show.” Howard was responsible for establishing a top-secret channel between Washington and Havana during her three trips to Cuba to help mend relations between the two countries after the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.  Howard died shortly after from a painkiller overdose in 1965.

While various news outlets mentioned the possibility that Gadot would play Howard, the actress noticeably omitted any direct reference to the role in her statement. “When I first read Peter’s article, I was entranced by his thrilling account of a complicated, fascinating woman in the midst of a high-stakes, real-life drama,” she said.

“I knew immediately that I had to be involved creatively with telling Lisa Howard’s story, and am thrilled to be producing this film with Sue,” Gadot said.

“My Dearest Fidel” will be Kroll’s first major feature project since leaving Warner Bros. in January and opening up a production company under her own name in April. The Jewish filmmaker is also busy producing Bradley Cooper’s “A Star is Born” and developing “The Six Billion Dollar Man” starring Mark Wahlberg.

Kroll said in a statement on Wednesday, “I’m so excited to bring this story to life with great creative partners in Gal, Jaron, Peter and Chris. This is a remarkable true story, anchored by an incredible woman, and lends itself to a dramatic and thrilling cinematic experience.”