Gal Gadot to play Irena Sendler, Polish hero who saved 2,500 children from Nazis

Israeli actress Gal Gadot is to star in a new thriller about Polish heroine Irena Sendler, who rescued 2,500 Jewish children during the war.

The Polish social worker, who was not Jewish, took advantage of her job to lead the rescue of thousands of children to safety from the Warsaw Ghetto.

Sendler, who was named by Yad Vashem a Righteous Among the Nations, was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.

She was arrested in October 1943 and beaten by members of the Gestapo who broke her legs and feet before leaving her by the roadside unconscious. She died in 2008 at the age of 98.

Gadot and her husband Yaron Varsano have formed the production company Pilot Wave, and and she and Varsano will produce with Marc Platt, Deadline Hollywood first reported.

Gadot, whose Wonder Woman sequel is set to be released early next year, said in a post on Instagram that she and her husband have been “working on this for quite some time and I just CAN’T wait to bring to life all the amazing stories we’re working on with all of our wonderfully talented partners.”

“As producers, we want to help bring stories that have inspired us to life. Pilot Wave will create content that promotes the perspectives and experiences of unique people and produce impactful stories aimed at igniting the imagination,” she also wrote.

Gadot also will star in a Showtime limited series about Jewish actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr, with she and her husband also serving as executive producers.

She also will star in “Red Notice,” also starring Ryan Reynolds and Duane Johnson, the biggest feature film ever made by Netflix. The action thriller, set for release in late 2020, is centered around the pursuit of the most wanted art thief in the world.