Photo: Corey Nickols/Getty for IMDb

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 09: Gal Gadot poses at the IMDb Official Portrait Studio during D23 2022 at Anaheim Convention Center on September 09, 2022 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Corey Nickols/Getty Images for IMDb)

Gal Gadotenjoys exploring her dark side.

TheWonder Womanactress stars as the Evil Queen in the upcoming live-actionre-imaginingof Disney’sSnow White, withWest Side Story’sRachel Zeglerin the title role. At the D23 Expo on Friday, the costars told PEOPLE about working together and “modernizing” the animated classic for today’s audiences.

And Gadot, 37, shares why she reveled in the chance to play a villain.

“I wanted to make sure that we keep her delightful and delicious, and we understand what makes her tick. Then the evilness is interesting, and not just flat,” she says.

“For me,” adds Gadot, “it was making sure the Queen is not just evil for the sake of being evil. There is a complexity. Between the two characters, it’s like a mother-daughter relationship in a weird way. It’s what happens to a woman when she feels like she’s not relevant anymore, what can come out of her.”

The Walt Disney Company via Getty

D23 EXPO 2022 - The Ultimate Disney Fan Event presented by VISA - brings together all the worlds of Disney under one roof for three packed days of presentations, pavilions, experiences, concerts, sneak peeks, shopping, and more. The event, which takes place September 9, 10, and 11 at the Anaheim Convention Center, provides fans with unprecedented access to Disney films, series, games, theme parks, collectibles, and celebrities. (The Walt Disney Company via Getty Images) Rachel Zegler, Gal Gadot

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free weekly newsletterto get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday.

While her character’s look has yet to be revealed, Gadot teases that she managed to spook other on set when dressed in her “heavy as hell” costume.

“Yeah. It’s very intimidating,” agrees Zegler, 21. “And it was also the black lipstick, it was the nails, it was the lashes.”

“Everything was very, not aggressive, but it was very intimidating. But to be that character just feels great, because you feel like it’s effective in the story,” adds Gadot, who says it was “enjoyable” to play a fairy tale villain and “go bigger, to be more theatrical, to speak through your body, and to do all those things.”

Corey Nickols/Getty for IMDb

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 09: (L-R) Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot pose at the IMDb Official Portrait Studio during D23 2022 at Anaheim Convention Center on September 09, 2022 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Corey Nickols/Getty Images for IMDb)

The costars kept it light between takes, though — sometimes even singing and dancing toGreasetunes together. (Zegler says she was “was absolutely Danny” in those duets while Gadot “was Sandy.")

“We danced a lot,” recalls Zegler, as Gadot adds, “And we laughed a lot. At the end of the day, neither of us is the type of actor that, when it’s cut we just go to our trailers and we wait for our turns again. We all stayed and it was just a wonderful, commune type of atmosphere on set. When you have this good chemistry between everybody it really shows onscreen.”

Snow Whitedebuts in 2024.

source: people.com