The live-action Barbie has been a project which has been a long-time coming. Reports of the film first began swirling back in 2014, with Diablo Cody pegged to write the screenplay. However, plans fell through, and production was repeatedly pushed back. Barbie has now changed quite a few hands, both in terms of the creative team and cast members. Despite the delays, it has finally been announced that production for the film has wrapped up, and fans are extremely excited to finally get their look into Barbieland.
The film's final version has a noteworthy cast with well-experienced actors and actresses taking on roles. The cast is backed up by a remarkable team of creatives, including Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, who, in addition to starring in the movie, is also part of the production team. With this being the first time a live-action Barbie will come to the big screen, courtesy of Mattel and Warner Bros. Pictures, fans have quite a bit to look forward to.
Here’s all we know about Greta Gerwig’s Barbie!
Barbie: The Plot
Not much regarding the film’s plot is known for now despite the narrative for the movie being in development for quite a number of years. From the information available at the time of writing, we know that Barbie’s plot will have the doll taking an introspective look at herself and coming to terms with certain realizations.
The storyline follows a doll forced to leave Barbieland due to her “imperfections.” Although the decision to leave is involuntary, after her experiences in the real world, the doll comes to understand that true beauty doesn’t lie in appearances but instead depends on what’s within. Talking to British Vogue in 2021 about the film, Margot Robbie, who will be playing Barbie, said:
“It comes with a lot of baggage! And a lot of nostalgic connections. But with that come a lot of exciting ways to attack it.”
Barbie: The Cast
Barbie’s cast is quite star-studded. Actress Margot Robbie takes on the titular role of Barbie in the film. Robbie’s reputation as an actress precedes her, with British Vogue saying, “On-screen as a ballsy supervillain or as a courageous producer in her own right, Margot Robbie defiantly asserts the role of women in Hollywood at its most action-packed and provocative.
Ryan Gosling will also be taking on a role in Barbie. He is set to play Barbie’s boyfriend, Ken. Among those who will be joining Gosling are Will Ferrell, Simu Liu, Nicola Coughlan, Michael Cera, Kate McKinnon, America Ferrera, Emma Mackey, Sharon Rooney, and Hari Nef. Ryan Gosling shared his excitement about his role as Ken with Variety in July 2022:
“Finally, it’s happening. This has been coming my whole life. I felt like I was seeing myself. I felt seen. I think a lot of Kens will feel seen when they see this. Gotta do it for the Kens. Nobody plays with the Kens.”
In addition to the cast, the film also has a noteworthy creative team behind it. Being written and directed by Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird), a filmmaker renowned for her ambition and artistic talents is sure to propel the almost cliché plot into something unique. Piquing the curiosity of viewers, Margot Robbie, talking to Vogue about Gerwig’s take on Barbie, said:
“People generally hear ‘Barbie’ and think, ‘I know what that movie is going to be,’ and then they hear that Greta Gerwig is writing and directing it, and they’re like, ‘Oh, well, maybe I don’t...’”
The First Barbie Casting
Margot Robbie wasn’t the first blonde who was cast for the lead role in Barbie. Back in 2017, the part was given to actress and comedian Amy Schumer. She signed on to do the film with the then-screenwriter Diablo Cody. However, both the actress and Cody dropped out mid-project. Revealing to ScreenCrush that she never even finished an initial draft, Cody said that despite how hard she tried to come up with a narrative, she “was literally incapable of writing a Barbie script.”
Concerning Schumer, although it was first reported that the actress had scheduling conflicts, in reality, Schumer is said to have had differences with the creative team over the nature of Barbie. The actress told The Hollywood Reporter in March 2022 that the studio “definitely didn’t want to do it the way I wanted to do it, the only way I was interested in doing it.” Despite Schumer wanting Barbie to be an ambitious inventor, the studio had other ideas, asking Schumer’s Barbie to be the inventor of “a high heel made of Jell-O.”
Release Date
Despite the excitement for the movie and filming having wrapped up in July 2022, viewers will have to wait for approximately a year before they can follow Barbie on her journey. Barbie is set for its theatrical release on July 21, 2023.