Barbie Movie: Everything We Know About the Live-Action Movie With Margot Robbie
In the most perfect casting in history, Margot Robbie was chosen to give life to Barbie Movie, the famous doll that marked the childhood of millions of girls around the world. After playing Sharon Tate in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and figure skater Tonya Harding in I, Tonya (for which she earned an Oscar nomination), Robbie teams up with Greta Gerwig (Little Women, Lady Bird) for this film starring a doll that came into the world on March 9, 1959, when it was presented by Mattel Inc. Blonde, tall and slim, Barbie doll’s physical appearance was inspired by the German Bild Lilli doll, which was a toy given as a bawdy joke, and was inspired by a cartoon character that used to appear in the Bild Zeitung newspaper.
Now, Gerwig and Robbie will tell a story starring the doll, with a bit of action and comedy. Sony has been looking to make a Barbie movie since 2014. Sex and the City’s Jenny Bicks wrote an early script, then Diablo Cody was involved, and Amy Schumer was set to play Barbie, but later dropped out and Anne Hathaway took her place. But that didn’t work out either, Cody dropped out and Ocean’s 8’s Olivia Milch took up writing the script until finally Gerwig came on board and got the whole thing going.
Barbie Movie: The Trailer and Pictures
The first teaser for the film begins with a Space Odyssey tribute, showing a group of girls playing with baby dolls until they discover the imposing Barbie, who changes their lives. Afterward, we get to see various images of the world created by Greta Gerwig, which take us to what appears to be a Barbie town where Robbie is someone important. There’s a lot of dancing and some kind of fighting, which could be part of what will lead Robbie and Ryan Gosling’s characters to leave their world.
The first official image of Barbie was revealed during CinemaCon. This one show Margot Robbie in a 1960s-style look (she’s dressed in the classic style of Barbie dolls in her early years), driving a pink convertible and smiling. There isn’t much context, but from Robbie’s expression, we can tell this story is going to be a lot of fun. The first image of Ryan Gosling as Ken was also revealed, wearing a jean look that takes us back to the ’90s.
The Cast of Barbie Movie
Margot Robbie was the first confirmed cast, with the leading role of the famous doll. In addition, the cast also includes Emma Mackey (the actress from Sex Education who is constantly compared to Robbie due to her physical resemblance), Will Ferrell, Simu Liu, from Shang-Chi and the legend of the ten rings, America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon (of Saturday Night Live and Ghostbusters), and Michael Cera (of Superbad). And there’s no Barbie without Ken, so actor Ryan Gosling was cast as Barbie’s usual love interest doll (who even appears in Toy Story with a huge collection of outfits).
“She comes with a lot of baggage!” Robbie told British Vogue in June 2021. “And a lot of nostalgic connections. But with that comes a lot of exciting ways to attack him. People usually 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’m not…”
Barbie Movie: When it Premiere?
The film is already confirmed for July 21, 2023.
Barbie Movie: What Is It About?
The details of the story have been kept under wraps, but there is a synopsis that talks about an adventure story. It is not a biographical film about the creators of the doll or the figures that inspired it, but a story in which Barbie is the protagonist, and is forced to face the real world. According to the official synopsis: A doll living in Barbieland is kicked out for not being perfect enough and goes on an adventure in the real world.
Does Rodrigo Prieto Work in This Film?
In a press conference, Rodrigo Prieto confirmed that he was working on Barbie as Director of Photography. The Mexican said about Robbie: “She is an adored and great actress. She has this thing that I’ve seen very little: she masters film technique and understands it perfectly, but her emotion is on the surface. Barbie might seem like a superficial thing, but she is going to surprise many”.
