COURTESY OF WARNER BROS. PICTURES
Warner Bros. and Mattel confirmed in 2019 that Margot Robbie would play Barbie in a future live-action movie. Along with her husband Tom Ackerley and producer Josey McNamara, the Oscar-nominated actress will coproduce the film through her firm, LuckyChap Entertainment.
The Barbie franchise’s first live-action feature will be produced for this project, which will also be the first movie contract for Mattel Films, the film subsidiary of the business that makes Barbie and other well-known toys. Here is all we currently know about the next film, however the narrative and release date have not been revealed.
A subversive parody is teased in the trailer.
The first teaser trailer for Barbie begins with a voice narrating “Since the first little girl ever existed, there have been dolls.” Little girls are seen sitting in a desert in a pan shot “But the dolls were always and forever baby dolls, until…”
Robbie appears as a huge replica of the original 1959 Mattel doll, replete with a pin-up hairdo and a black-and-white striped bathing suit. Ryan Gosling, Issa Rae, and Simu Liu’s co-stars are also included in the trailer for the movie.
Margot Robbie already embodies the role.
Fans got their first glimpse at Robbie in the lead role of the next movie in a first peek photo released at CinemaCon 2022. In the picture, Robbie is seen driving her pink convertible while wearing a headband and halter top that match.
In a recently posted shot, the studio also gave fans a sneak peek at Ryan Gosling as Ken, the major man in Barbie’s life. With matching pants, a denim vest, platinum blonde hair, and a very strong fake tan, Gosling nearly looks unrecognizably distinct.
Robbie is “honored” to play the part.
Robbie lauded Barbie in a press statement for promoting
“confidence, curiosity and communication” through childhood, and empowering kids “to imagine themselves in aspirational roles from a princess to president.”
“I’m so honored to take on this role and produce a film that I believe will have a tremendously positive impact on children and audiences worldwide,” she added in her statement.
As Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad, Tonya Harding in I, Tonya, and Queen Elizabeth I in Mary Queen of Scots, the actress has impressively transformed for these roles. And despite the actress being compared as a real-life Barbie by some admirers, she has avoided being cast in parts based only on appearance.
Her casting has been the subject of rumors for years.
After a Sony email leak purportedly identified Robbie as one of the prospective actors for the iconic doll’s role, rumors of her casting as Barbie initially surfaced in 2015. Years later, in October 2018, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Robbie was in discussions with Warner Bros. to star in and produce the movie.
She wasn’t the movie’s sole celebrity star, though. Amy Schumer apparently received the part in 2016 but withdrew due to schedule issues a few months later, according to THR. Anne Hathaway was said to be considering acting in 2017.
Greta Gerwig is the director.
Since 2019, when it was revealed that Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach will write the script, Greta Gerwig had been associated with the Barbie movie. But as sources have now revealed to Variety, the Little Women director is reportedly also attached to helm the picture.
MATT WINKELMEYER//GETTY IMAGES
The movie will debut in theaters in 2023.
Fans will have to wait a few years to see this movie in theaters. Before beginning work on Barbie in early 2022 at Warner Bros.’ Leavesden Studios in London, Gerwig and Baumbach will first work on their most recent film, White Noise, according to Variety. The movie’s current release date is July 21, 2023.
Ryan Gosling is set to play Ken.
Another top-tier actor has been cast as the movie’s male lead. According to Deadline, Ryan Gosling, who played Ken in Blue Valentine, is currently in final discussions to play Barbie’s boyfriend. The Academy Award contender, who has supposedly been the studio’s lone option from the start, has suddenly agreed to work on the project after discovering a gap in his calendar. It appears that the eagerly anticipated project can begin production in early 2022 with Gosling’s commitment.
Issa Rae, Hari Nef, Kate McKinnon, and more actors have joined the cast of the movie.
Over the past several weeks, a number of notable names have joined Robbie and Gosling in the picture, according to a number of cast announcements. Emma Mackey, who starred in Sex Education, was a shocking casting choice because she and Robbie resemble one other so much. Gerwig’s interpretation of the Mattel doll gains additional charm thanks to the casting, despite the lack of story information.
America Ferrera, Simu Liu from Shang Chi, Will Ferrell, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Michael Cera, Alexandra Shipp, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Rhea Perlman, Ncuti Gatwa from Sex Education, Oscar winner Emerald Fennell, Sharon Rooney, Scott Evans, Ana Cruz Kayne, Connor Swindells, Ritu Arya, and Jamie Demetriou are all currently part of the cast.
A huge dance number will debut.
The majority of the cast has been mute about what to anticipate from the movie, but Shang Chi star Simu Lu has stated in various interviews that his part features a significant dance number. He initially alluded to the dance in a GQ UK interview, when he said that he was chosen for the role after telling Gerwig about his background in hip-hop dancing. “Greta was talking about how much she loved watching men dance, because it’s such an expression of artistry you’re not used to seeing from typical men,” He told the publication.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Liu spoke about filming the dance scene and said it seemed like the actors were just hanging out and dancing for fun on the set. “There are new speculations regarding some unverified parts, however he didn’t say who else was in the scene,” he said.
If the rumors are accurate, Liu will be portraying a different Ken in addition to the verified Ken Ryan Gosling and the second rumored Ken (and confirmed Doctor Who) Ncuti Gatwa. There could possibly be more than one Barbie as Issa Rae and Hari Nef both portray different iterations of the doll. Basically, you need to expand your ideas of what is possible in this action-packed movie.
