Gal Gadot is not running from artificial intelligence, but she is drawing a firm line around her performance. The Wonder Woman star defended her role in Doug Liman’s upcoming Bitcoin while warning actors that AI is quickly becoming impossible to ignore.
The film used AI-generated sets and lighting, while Gadot spent months ensuring the technology could not alter her acting.
Gal Gadot says actors must adapt to AI while protecting their performances
Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Gadot told host Josh Horowitz that her lawyers spent six months examining every possible AI scenario before she signed on. “I did not want AI to have anything to do with my performance,” she said.
Her legal team pushed those protections so far that SAG-AFTRA contacted her lawyers. The union wanted pointers for updating contracts that could protect other performers.
Gadot also admitted she felt uneasy about the technology. Still, she argued that avoiding AI altogether could leave actors behind. “The train has left the station,” she said. She explained that Bitcoin used AI for sets and lighting rather than replacing her acting. The production shot Gadot alongside Casey Affleck, Pete Davidson and Isla Fisher in an intentionally barebones space.
Producer Ryan Kavanaugh previously claimed the $70 million production saved more than $200 million through AI-assisted production design and lighting. Those claims have fueled debate about AI’s growing role in Hollywood.
For Gadot, however, the unusual setup created an experience that felt surprisingly theatrical. The actors could film continuously because traditional lighting changes no longer interrupted scenes. She said the process felt like “a pure art form of creating a movie.” Gadot also admitted she had not seen a finished shot yet.
Her comments arrived alongside another major career reflection. Gadot said she likely would not return for a third Wonder Woman movie, largely because raising four children changed her priorities. She remained grateful for the superhero role that defined a major chapter of her career. Gadot said she viewed herself as a “vessel” for the character rather than its owner.
Now, her focus appeared to be adapting without surrendering creative control. For Gadot, that meant learning AI while protecting the human performance at its center.
