Israeli actress Gal Gadot has confirmed on social media that she will be playing Cleopatra, the famous queen of Egypt, after this was first reported by entertainment news website Deadline on Sunday (Oct 11).

The Wonder Woman (2017) actress wrote: "As you might have heard, I teamed up with Patty Jenkins and Laeta Kalogridis 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. And we are especially thrilled to be announcing this on International Day of the Girl.

"We hope women and girls all around the world, who aspire to tell stories will never give up on their dreams and will make their voices heard, by and for other women."

Gadot, 35, has already worked with director Jenkins, 49, on the Wonder Woman movie and its sequel Wonder Woman 1984, which is now scheduled to be released in December.

Kalogridis has co-written the screenplay for movies such as Terminator Genisys (2015) and Alita: Battle Angel (2019).

The role of Cleopatra has been portrayed by several actresses in the past, with the most notable being late actress Elizabeth Taylor in the movie Cleopatra (1963), which won four awards, including Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design, at the Oscars in 1964.

The decision to cast Gadot has not gone down well with some critics. They said that Cleopatra should be played by an actress of Arab or African origin, although others pointed out that the Egyptian queen was actually of Greek descent.