Gal Gadot Will Produce Film Adaptation of Don't Feed the Lion
Fox Entertainment Studios and Moriah Media have optioned Bianna Golodryga and Yonit Levi's middle-grade novel about children confronting antisemitism, with Gal Gadot possibly starring.
The facts come first below. My opinion follows in the section marked as opinion.
Gal Gadot and Jaron Varsano's Pilot Wave Motion Pictures have teamed with Fox Entertainment Studios and Moriah Media to develop a screen adaptation of Don't Feed the Lion, a 2025 middle-grade novel about children confronting antisemitism, Deadline and The Wrap reported on Nov. 11.
According to Deadline, Fox Entertainment Studios and Moriah Media, the storytelling arm of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, have optioned the book to develop and produce as a film, with Gadot and Varsano serving as executive producers and Gadot possibly starring. No director, start date, or release date was announced.
The novel, published by Arcadia Children's Books, was written by former CNN anchor Bianna Golodryga and Israeli Channel 12 news anchor Yonit Levi. Deadline and The Wrap both described the story as following Theo Kaplan, a 13-year-old soccer co-captain, his younger sister Annie, and their classmate Gabe after Theo's soccer hero posts an antisemitic message online that goes viral. As the hatred spreads into their Chicago middle school, the children must navigate prejudice and peer pressure, seek out allies, and find the courage to speak up. The story is set against Friday night Shabbat dinners with Theo and Annie's immigrant grandparents.
The Wrap reported that the title comes from an aphorism shared by the children's grandfather, "an important reminder not to give fear, panic, or hatred room to grow." Both outlets said Golodryga and Levi wrote the book in response to questions from their own children about rising antisemitism and a lack of middle-grade fiction addressing the subject.
In a statement published by The Wrap, the authors said, "We wrote 'Don't Feed the Lion' as two Jewish mothers concerned about the world our children were growing up in. We were alarmed not only by the rise in antisemitism, but by the lack of resources to help children and teens understand and confront it. No child should have to experience hate or feel powerless in the face of it."
Gadot and Varsano said, in remarks published by Deadline and The Wrap, "This is a story that feels especially personal to us, both as parents and as a family." They added, "We want our children to grow up in a world where differences are respected, where hatred is challenged and where no one feels alone in standing up for what is right. Don't Feed the Lion opens the door to conversations that matter, and we are grateful to be part of bringing it to life."
Fernando Szew, president and head of studio at Fox Entertainment Studios, said, according to Deadline, "Don't Feed the Lion brings a difficult subject into focus through characters young audiences can see themselves in and choices they recognize from their own lives." Jim Berk, CEO of Moriah Media, said, "Stories can reach young people in ways that arguments and headlines often can't."
Deadline reported Wednesday that Golodryga was slated to receive the Simon Wiesenthal Center's Jewish Heritage Award at its 2026 Humanitarian Award Dinner that night in Los Angeles, and that Gadot, along with Skydance's David Ellison and Jeffrey Katzenberg, would present Skydance co-CEO Ynon Kreiz with the dinner's Humanitarian Award. Dock Line recently reported that Skydance Plans HBO Max and Paramount+ Bundle in Early 2027. An option on a book is a development deal, not a finished film or a scheduled premiere.
Opinion:
Antisemitism is not a difference of opinion. It is a lie about a people, and it is sin. A children's story that tells the truth about that hatred, and about the duty to stand up to it, is dealing with a real evil, not a fashionable theme.
That is as far as Wednesday's announcement should be stretched. Fox and Pilot Wave have optioned a book. Gadot may star. There is no director and no release date. A deal memo is not a movie, and a movie is not a moral victory already won. The test will be whether the finished film tells the truth or sands the edges off for a committee.
Parents should teach their children that Jews are not a safe target, that a viral smear is not a joke, and that courage is required when a crowd goes along. If this project helps that teaching, good. Until there is a film to judge, the honest work is to report the facts and refuse to pretend that a press release has already repaired the world.
