Twitterati unhappy with Israeli actress Gal Gadot being cast as Egyptian queen Cleopatra

‘Wonder Woman’ actress Gal Gadot will star as Cleopatra in an upcoming film. As the news made it to the internet, fans criticised the casting of an Israeli actress to play the role of a legendary Egyptian queen.

Gal Gadot had tweeted on Sunday making the announcement, "As you might have heard I teamed up with @PattyJenks and @LKalogridis to bring the story of Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, to the big screen in a way she’s never been seen before. To tell her story for the first time through women's eyes, both behind and in front of the camera. I love embarking on new journeys, I love the excitement of new projects, the thrill of bringing new stories to life. Cleopatra is a story I wanted to tell for a very long time."

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Fans commented on the post and wrote that they were not convinced with the casting.

One Twitter user wrote, "How about they cast someone with North African blood! someone like Sofia Boutella! I’m so sick of casting white actors and Israelis as pharaohs and arab roles! Gal Gadot shouldn’t be Cleopatra. THE DISRESPECT!"

Another wrote, "I'm sure Gal Gadot is going to do a wonderful job as Cleopatra. However, for me personally, I would love a Cleopatra who's darker than a brown paper bag, because that seems a bit more historically accurate."

The period biographical drama is in collaboration with ‘Wonder Woman’ director Patty Jenkins and is scripted by Laeta Kalogridis. On the controversy, Laeta Kalogridis tweeted that she was looking forward to writing the story of Cleopatra, "arguably the most famous Macedonian Greek woman in history." It is said that Cleopatra was of Macedonian descent and had little, if any, Egyptian blood.

In response, a user on Twitter wrote, who in Hollywood "thought it would be a good idea to cast an Israeli actress as Cleopatra (a very bland looking one) instead of a stunning Arab actress like Nadine Njeim? And shame on you, Gal Gadot. Your country steals Arab land & you’re stealing their movie roles... smh."

"White libs flipped … out when white actors played MYTHICAL Egyptian gods in “Gods of Egypt,” but all is well when a WHITE Israeli actress of European descent is cast as Cleopatra," the user added.

The last famous Cleopatra movie we saw starred Elizabeth Taylor in director Joseph L. Mankiewicz's 1963 epic, ‘Cleopatra’.

Some, however, appreciated the casting with several of them pointing out that although Cleopatra was an Engyptian queen, she was originally Greek.