What we know about Gal Gadot’s Netflix spy epic Heart of Stone

Chris Hemsworth isn’t the only superhero to swap enhanced powers for real-life combat chops, Wonder Woman herself, Gal Gadot, is doing exactly the same with Heart of Stone.

Gadot’s new Netflix action epic comes from the same folks who brought us Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, and by the looks of its first trailer, it seems set to give Tom Cruise’s action-packed franchise a run for its money.

From tackling villains via a set of sleek skiing skills to battling baddies whilst free-falling in mid-air, Gadot is no stranger to wowing audiences and Heart of Stone promises to help her continue doing that on the biggest scale yet.

Read more: What we know about Wonder Woman 3

What else do we know about this big-budget actioner? Read on to discover all the key details about its release date, cast, plot details and more.

How can I watch Heart of Stone?

Gal Gadot’s summer blockbuster Heart of Stone is available to stream on Netflix from today, Friday, 11 August. The film has a runtime of two hours and two minutes.

What have critics said about Heart of Stone?

Heart of Stone has firmly divided critics following its release on the streaming platform.

Yahoo’s Martin Carr praised the film’s “explosive action” and “feel-good factor”, and The Guardian praised Gadot “confident” turn as an action star. However, The Independent branded the movie “instantly forgettable”. Read the full reviews below.

Yahoo Movies: Gal Gadot's action caper is a surprisingly feel-good flick (4-min read)

The Independent: Gal Gadot leads a drab, forgettable, poorly lit mess from Netflix (3-min read)

The Guardian: Netflix’s Mission: Impossible-esque thriller is rock solid (4-min read)

The Telegraph: Gal Gadot’s Bond-alike thriller lands with a thud (3-min read)

Total Film: Gal Gadot's fun actioner is missing a final ace up its sleeve (2-min read)

Is there a trailer for Heart of Stone?

The cast of Heart of Stone recently unveiled some exclusive footage from the movie at Netflix’s Tudum: Global Fan Event in Brazil, giving us a good look at what’s in store.

In addition to unveiling more details about the movie, the cast also revealed the film’s action-packed first trailer during which we see Gadot’s character Rachel Stone get pulled into her latest mission. Watch it below.

Who is in the cast of Heart of Stone?

As we’ve already mentioned, Gal Gadot is the main player here starring as Rachel Stone, a secret agent who is also a member of a clandestine organisation known as the Charter.

She’s joined by Fifty Shades of Grey star Jamie Dornan who plays fellow MI6 agent Parker, someone who seems to share a special bond with Stone going by the scenes they share in the trailer.

RRR’s Alia Bhatt joins the cast as hacker Keya Dhawan, with Death on The Nile star Sophie Okonedo appearing as a character known as Nomad/King of Hearts who works at the Charter. Army of the Dead’s Matthias Schweighöfer, Crazy Rich Asians’ Jing Lusi and The Terror actor Paul Ready also co-star.

The film is directed by Tom Harper whose previous work includes 2018’s Wild Rose and various episodes of Peaky Blinders.

What happens in Heart of Stone?

Working for the Charter, Stone spends her time preventing global disasters and stopping nefarious powers from reaching their evil goals.

At the centre of the organisation is an AI-powered object known as ‘The Heart’ which helps the Charter keep global peace by scouring online data and pre-empting responses for potential disasters. However, when this all-important McGuffin falls into the wrong hands, Stone is thrown into action to try and bring it back and save the world.

“The Heart is what’s called a general AI — an AI that can do anything you want it to do, and it becomes a master of that immediately,” explained VFX supervisor Mark Breakspear via Netflix’s official press release.

“No one has built a general AI yet. And it’s connected to a quantum computer, which processes way faster than an ordinary computer. The Heart is tasked with monitoring all human data, analyzing it, looking for patterns and then using those patterns to make predictions. The Charter uses the Heart to look at a given situation and help their operatives plan what to do.”

Meanwhile, despite being a stone-cold spy superstar, Gadot felt passionately about Stone remaining a relatable character. “It was really important to me that Rachel be a character who can fight, but I also wanted her to be able to use her brain, intuition and emotions,” the star explained to Netflix.

“She doesn’t just run in, guns blazing. She thinks about how she’s affecting people and situations. I choose roles that show that women can be beautiful and strong, and none of this is mutually exclusive.”

Heart of Stone is out on Netflix now