Gal Gadot may portray female lead in 'Ben-Hur'

By ANNIE MARTIN

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- Gal Gadot is in talks to join Ben-Hur.
The 29-year-old actress would portray Esther, a slave and love interest to Judah Ben-Hur (Jack Huston), in the MGM and Paramount remake.
Ben-Hur is based on Lew Wallace's 1880 novel, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, and was previously adapted for film with Charlton Heston as star in 1959. The remake will be directed by Timur Bekmambetov, with Mark Burnett, Sean Daniel and Joni Levin as producers.
The story follows Jewish prince Ben-Hur after his childhood best friend, Messala (Stephen Boyd), betrays and condemns him to the slave galleys. The prince becomes a champion charioteer in his quest for vengeance, and Morgan Freeman will star as the man who teaches him how to chariot race.
Gadot is best known for her role as Gisele in the Fast & Furious series of films, and will star as Wonder Woman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in 2016. The actress will reprise the superheroine in a Justice League movie and a standalone Wonder Woman film in 2017, and will next appear alongside Kate Winslet, Aaron Paul and Woody Harrelson in Triple Nine in 2015.