The Red Notice trailer takes a few cues from Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman performance in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. If there was ever a sign of Netflix's increasing importance to mainstream movies, it's the trio of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot in Red Notice. Written and directed by Rawson Marshall Thunder (Dodgeball, Central Intelligence), Red Notice was originally set for Universal before Netflix swooped in 2019. With production delayed due to COVID-19 (what else?), Red Notice finally hits Netflix on November 12th, and sees a top FBI profiler (Johnson) team up with master criminal #1 (Reynolds) to catch master criminal #2 (Gadot).
The first Red Notice teaser trailer highlights Johnson's Agent John Hartley and his unlikely alliance with Reynolds' Nolan Booth. No prizes for guessing which takes the straight-man role. As Hartley & Nolan set out to ensnare Gadot's Sarah Black, a volley of explosions, smashing windows, car chases, and snappy one-liners ensues. Once their senses recover, DCEU fans might find some similarities between Gadot's Red Notice character and her Wonder Woman in Batman V Superman.
The most blatant parallel is the dance scene between Gadot and The Rock. The former WWE superstar dances with Red Notice's femme fatale in a tense stand-off, then sneaks up behind to whisper a threat. It's almost identical to Lex Luthor's party in Batman V Superman, where Bruce Wayne notices Diana creeping around, then moves in behind to warn her off the trail. Not only does the relative positioning of Gadot and Rock match Gadot and Ben Affleck, but both scenes take place at fancy parties, involve valuable artifacts, and end with Gadot dropping a suggestive retort ("promises, promises" in Red Notice and "I don't think you've ever known a woman like me" in Batman V Superman).
The similarities between Red Notice's Ms. Black and the DCEU's Wonder Woman extend beyond just the party sequence. Red Notice's trailer highlights Paris' Louvre gallery as a key location, and the very same French tourist destination served as Diana Prince's place of work in Batman V Superman. Gadot dancing with her enemy in Red Notice is reminiscent of her reluctant waltz with Ludendorff in 2017's Wonder Woman, and the way she runs verbal rings around Rock 'n' Reynolds mirrors how Diana condescends the Justice League "boys" in Batman V Superman. Similarities can even be found in Sarah Black's Red Notice fighting style, with her moves easily mistaken for Diana Prince's - were it not for the presence of Johnson and Reynolds nearby.
Some of the comparisons are simple coincidence. Black's fight scenes only recall Wonder Woman because that's how audiences see Gal Gadot in an action movie context. But there's obviously a closer correlation that suggests Gal Gadot's DCEU success might've provided inspiration for her Red Notice gig. The Netflix movie takes the same energy, attitude, class and wit of DCEU Diana Prince, moves her into a real-world setting and adds a dash of villainy. It'll be interesting to see how those qualities translate to a master criminal instead of an Amazonian warrior. And, in fairness, Gadot isn't the only star sticking to what she knows in Red Notice, with Ryan Reynolds and The Rock's odd couple pairing landing not too far from Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson's odd couple pairing in The Hitman's Bodyguard.
