Wonder Woman‘s Patty Jenkins will no longer be directing Gal Gadot in upcoming biopic Cleopatra, Digital Spy reports.
Citing a Monday, December 6, Deadline report, the paper says the Emmy-nominated filmmaker had stepped down from her previously assigned duties, and that the film will now be helmed by The Falcon and the Winter Soldier‘s Kari Skogland.
According to the publication, Jenkins remains involved in the project in a producing role, which allows her more time to concentrate on her next two projects, Wonder Woman 3 and Star Wars: Rogue Squadron.
Gadot, Chuck Roven and Jaron Varsano are also on board to produce, while Shutter Island’s Laeta Kalogridis will write the script and act as executive producer.
Prior to her MCU involvement, Skogland had previously directed on titles such as The Handmaid’s Tale, House of Cards, The Borgias, Boardwalk Empire and The Walking Dead.
With Gadot in the lead role, a casting that has proved somewhat controversial, Cleopatra centres on the eponymous real-life queen and explores her 21 years of rule before Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire.
Though she technically shared the regency title with other members of her family, she was known as dominant leader at the time, and became known throughout both history and popular culture for her romantic and political relationships with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony.
Hollywood has attempted to depict Cleopatra’s life a few times, most notably the 1963 epic starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor.
It received nine nominations at the 36th Academy Awards, including for Best Picture, and won four: Best Art Direction (Color), Best Cinematography (Color), Best Visual Effects and Best Costume Design (Color).
