The stars of Greta Gerwig's upcoming Barbie flick continue to heap praise on the soon-to-be blockbuster.
The latest is Simu Liu, who plays another version of Ryan Gosling's Ken, recently gushing to Vanity Fair over director Gerwig's commitment to a diverse cast. Teasing some "big intricate dance sequences" interwoven throughout the little-known plot, Liu says that the beauty of it all is more than skin-deep.
"I remember very clearly about some of our big intricate dance sequences. Greta was very, very conscientious about who she cast. We were able to cast people of different shapes, sizes, differently abled, to all participate in this dance—all under this message of: You don't have to be blonde, white, or X, Y, Z in order to embody what it means to be a Barbie or a Ken...It's really about finding your inner beauty and owning that part of yourself and being the best possible version of you."
Liu Continues to Praise Gerwig's 'Subversive' Script: 'It Makes Fun of Itself'
This isn't the first time that the Shang-Chi actor has raved about working on Barbie—Liu told Marc Maron's WTF podcast last summer that the film had "one of the best scripts" that he'd ever read, promising that it would surprise anyone "cynical" about a Barbie movie.
"It's one of the best scripts I've ever read. I think it'll surprise a lot of people because I think a lot of people get cynical when they see Mattel or Barbie. The first thought I had after reading the script was how the hell did they get Mattel to sign off on this, because this is not the kind of movie that corporate overlords sign off on," he said.
Liu also praised co-star Margot Robbie, who plays the titular beautiful blonde, and the film's producer Tom Ackerley for helping to get the subversive script past the execs at Mattel.
"This is the type of movie that I love, unabashedly. It's smart, it's subversive, and it's meta, and it makes fun of itself. How did they understand it enough to green light it? I think that's props to not only Greta but also to Margot Robbie and Tom Ackerley who produced it," the actor added.
Audiences in the United States can catch Barbie in theaters beginning July 21, 2023; in the meantime, check out the first teaser trailer below: