WIRE Buzz: Gal Gadot goes all in for action with Bond-like ‘Heart of Stone’; DuckTales quacks farewell; more

She’s already shown her Amazonian action chops as DC’s flagship female hero. Now Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot is reportedly set to anchor her own action feature, boarding a new project that’s drawing early comparisons to Mission: Impossible and James Bond.

Deadline reports that Gadot has inked a monster 8-figure deal to headline Heart of Stone, a new action-focused “international spy thriller” from Skydance Media that’s reportedly in talks with The Aeronauts director Tom Harper to direct. There aren’t any plot details yet, but Heart of Stone is aimed at putting “a female spin on action franchises like Mission: Impossible and 007,” according to the report. Skydance also is reportedly taking the wait-and-see approach to debuting the movie as either a big screen feature or a premium streaming film.

Scripting the new movie is comics writer Greg Rucka, who also wrote the screenplay for this year’s superhero feature The Old Guard, which starred Charlize Theron at Netflix; as well as Allison Schroeder, who earned an Oscar nomination for her co-writing duty on the 2016 drama Hidden Figures. Via her Pilot Wave production company, Gadot is reportedly sharing production credit alongside Skydance Media’s David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and Don Granger.

You don’t need the Lasso of Truth to tell that Gadot’s much closer to her next date with superhero destiny, as Warner Bros. gets set to debut the hugely-hyped Wonder Woman 1984 later this month. Gadot herself even hit Twitter today with an excited message for fans to catch 1984 in theaters, if it's safe for them to do so. Watch for Diana to take things retro when the Wonder Woman sequel lands both on big screens and at HBO Max beginning Dec. 25. There’s no word, meanwhile, on a premiere timeline for Heart of Stone — so stay tuned.

Bill me never: After three successful seasons serving up a welcome retro reboot of a Disney classic, the modern-day update to the DuckTales animated series has quacked its last. According to Disney, physical production has officially ended for good on the extremely well-received, hijinks-filled fresh spin around Duckburg on the well-appointed coattails of Scrooge McDuck.

In a statement to SYFY WIRE, Disney XD said fans still have a big finale to look forward to next year, but that the revived series’ three seasons will stand as a complete storyline, and that no new seasons of DuckTales are planned.

“The talented creative team, led by Matt Youngberg and Francisco Angones, have delivered exceptional storytelling with uniquely reimagined characters for three seasons of 75 episodes and more than 15 shorts,” the network stated. “While physical production has wrapped, DuckTales continues to be available on Disney Channels and Disney+ around the world and fans will get an epic season finale in 2021.”

If you’ve been following along on the new adventures of Huey, Dewey, and Louie, it’s evident that DuckTales hasn’t exactly been treading water with its episodes. Unlike some feather-stuffed series that can go on indefinitely, DuckTales has made each installment count, waddling closer and closer to some kind of big series-wrapping payoff — which will no doubt come with a splash when the final episode arrives. So let those sad tears over the end of DucksTales roll right off your back: Donald and friends have already given us one golden goose of an animated classic revival.

Egg nog, a cozy fire, and…brains-starved zombies? Stranger things have happened for sure, but it looks like AMC is about to put an undead spin on the holidays with its first-ever December special celebrating the post-apocalyptic wasteland of The Walking Dead.

Deadline reports that Talking Dead host Chris Hardwick will anchor The Walking Dead Holiday Special, a marathon 4-hour TWD extravaganza that features cast members from the TV franchise adaptation of creator Robert Kirkman’s iconic comics. The long list of stars and creators will mark the holiday season for fans the way only The Walking Dead can, swapping stories and fond memories from all their rotting and twisted wasteland exploits.

The special will air on AMC+, the network’s premium streaming service, and will reportedly roll out a super-long list of TWD alumni including stars Lauren Cohan, Melissa McBride, Josh McDermitt, Khary Payton, Eleanor Matsuura, Cooper Andrews, Cassady McClincy, Lauren Ridloff, Cailey Fleming, Emily Kinney, and IronE Singleton, as well as series TV mastermind Scott M. Gimple and showrunner / EP Angela Kang.

Tune in to AMC+ on Dec. 13, when The Walking Dead Holiday Special brings a comforting slice of survival to the holidays — and be on the lookout for special performances of holiday classics from the cast, as well as an inside peek at a Season 10 episode table read. After all, who says you can’t celebrate the holidays...even in the world beyond?