Gal Gadot Circling Female Lead in 'Ben-Hur' (Exclusive)

The future Wonder Woman is eyeing another hot role

Future Wonder Woman Gal Gadot is in talks for another hot role.

The actress is in early negotiations for the female lead role in Ben-Hur, Paramount and MGM's retelling of the classic sword-and-sandals epic.

Jack Huston is starring as the Jewish prince who is betrayed into slavery by his onetime friend, Messala, played by Toby Kebbell. He fights his way to freedom and vengeance, with a couple of chariot races thrown in for good measure. Morgan Freeman is also on board as the man who trains Ben-Hur how to win at chariot-racing.

If the deal is made, Gadot will play Esther, a slave with whom Ben-Hur is in love.

Timur Bekmambetov is directing the movie, which is both a remake of the Charlton Heston-starring 1959 movie (which won 11 Oscars) and an adaptation of the Lew Wallace novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, published in 1880. For the remake, Keith Clarke wrote the script with a rewrite by John Ridley.

The team behind hit miniseries and movie The Bible, Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, are onboard as producer and executive producer, respectively. Sean Daniel and Joni Levin are also producing while Ridley, Clarke and Jason F. Brown are executive producing.

The film will shoot in Europe early next year and is eyeing a February 2016 release date.

Gadot, who appeared in the Fast & Furious franchise before nabbing the role of Wonder Woman in the upcoming Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, will also get to lead her own Wonder Woman spin-off movie. Warner Bros. announced plans for a Wonder Woman film for 2017. She'll also appear in Justice League Part One, also set for 2017.

Gadot is definitely having a big year, with several other noteworthy projects in the works. She has wrapped work on John Hillcoat’s Triple Nine with Kate Winslet, as well as Ariel Vromen’s Criminal with Ryan Reynolds. Gadot is repped by ICM Partners, Untitled Entertainment, ADD Agency out of Israel and Felker Toczek.