Lebanon Officially Bans Wonder Woman Because of Gal Gadot’s Origins

Just a few hours before the movie was scheduled to premiere in the country’s capital, Lebanon’s Ministry of Economy has officially banned Wonder Woman because its lead actress, Gal Gadot, is an Israeli and former soldier of the Israel army.

Officially at war with Israel, Lebanon takes its hostility towards the Middle Eastern country so far that it has a decades-old law that bans Israeli products and forbids Lebanese citizens from traveling there or having contact with Israelis.

As Wonder Woman was only set to be played in 15 locations in the nation, the decision should have no significant effect on the film’s global box office gross.

The decision follows the campaign of a group called ‘Campaign to Boycott Supporters of Israel‘ against showing the Warner Bros. movie in Lebanon, after it posted on its Facebook page that it is advocating a ban because Gadot was a soldier in the Israeli army (the 2-years service she completed is mandatory), and has expressed support for Israel’s military policies against the Gaza Strip, a coastal Palestinian territory run by the militant Hamas group. In 2016, the aforementioned campaigners already tried to get Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice banned for the same reason.

Early tracking have Wonder Woman grossing between $65 and $75 million, and the movie, based on the DC Comics character of the same name, has already received lots of positive reviews with many critics calling it “the best DCEU film” while also praising Gadot’s performance.

Its director, Patty Jenkins, even talked about the possibility of a sequel.