Margot Robbie Will Portray Barbie
Margot Robbie will bring the iconic Barbie to life, and the cast includes Ryan Gosling as Ken – the longtime companion of the doll. The movie’s director is Greta Gerwig, and it seems the movie adaptation will not be a standard one. It seems the whole project will be something very different than people expect. Barbie will be released in July 2023, and the movie has been in the works for more than a decade. It just got moving a few years ago, and in 2021, it was reported that the movie was going to be happening.
Warner Bros Is Distributing Barbie
Warner Bros. Pictures are distributing the movie and have announced that Barbie will open in July, which will be a very busy month at the box office. While Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling will lead the cast, it will also include stars like America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Emerald Fennell, Simu Liu, Michael Cera, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, and others. Margot Robbie will be co-producing and took on the titular role of Barbie in 2019. Ryan Gosling later signed on to portray Ken in October 2021. He first had extensive talks with Warner Bros. Pictures and Mattel Films. Reportedly, Gosling initially turned down the offer but later decided to sign on to the project. It is also known that Will Ferrell will be playing the CEO of Mattel.
Noah Baumbach Is Co-Writing
Gerwig explained that the possibility of her helming the project used to terrify her, which drove her to do it. So, not only did she direct the toy-to-film adaptation, but she also decided to write the screenplay alongside her longtime creative collaborator and partner, Noah Baumbach. The two are both acclaimed filmmakers who were nominated for Academy Awards, so it doesn’t look like people will be getting a standard movie based on a toy line but something very unique and fresh.
According to actress Margot Robbie, the movie will be something different from what people expect from the property. Robbie’s LuckyChap production company got involved with the Barbie movie, and she has been championing it ever since. When asked if she wanted to subvert expectations by hiring Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig to write the story, Robbie explained the goal was to honor the property while surprising people and provoking deep conversations.
While Barbie is the first live-action movie based on the popular doll, it is also the first release from Mattel Films. It is a division of the toy manufacturer that was launched in 2018 and starting it was a way to better focus its efforts on producing and developing toy-brand movies. The company has a massive collection of successful toys and other properties, and Barbie could be just the first of many projects that fans could get to see in the coming years.