It's a Barbie world, and we all live in it. What looks like a Mattel doll does a lifetime, Margot Robbie confirmed the live-action film adaptation of "Barbie" in July 2019, with Greta Gerwig and her partner Noah Baumbach co-writing the script. It was later announced that Gerwig would direct the film.
The news marked the 60th anniversary of the famous blonde doll. “Barbie” will be released in theaters on July 21, 2023.
Director: Greta Gerwig
Writers: Noah Baumbach, Greta Gerwig
Stars: Margot Robbie, Will Ferrell, Ryan Gosling
Robbie, who will play Barbie opposite Ryan Gosling's Ken, is slated to produce the film through his production company LuckyChap Entertainment. Mattel Films and HeyDay Films will co-produce.
The "Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood" star admitted the film "comes with a lot of baggage and a lot of nostalgic connections" to honor the doll's legacy. "But with that comes a lot of exciting ways to attack it," Robbie told British Vogue. “People usually hear 'Barbie' and think, 'I know what that movie is going to be like,' and then they hear that Greta Gerwig is writing and directing it, and they're like, 'Oh, well, maybe not me.' you…'”
One story has been kept hermetically sealed (perhaps in a pink acrylic Barbie display case), but the adaptation will feature multiple variations of Barbie and Ken. The star-studded cast includes Ryan Gosling as Ken to Robbie's Barbie and Will Ferrell as CEO of the Mattel toy company, as well as America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Simu Liu, Issa Rae, Ncuti Gatwa, Michael Cera, Alexandra Shipp, Hari Nef, Emerald Fennell and Emma Mackey, among others.
Robbie, who also produced the film under his LuckyChap Entertainment banner, previously said that she was expecting the unexpected.
"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 do.'" she told British Vogue last June.
Ferrell has mocked it as a loving, satirical homage to the Barbie brand, telling The Wall Street Journal last month that the film will "comment on the male patriarchy and women in society."
Gerwig, who co-wrote the script with her partner Noah Baumbach, shared last month that she was initially petrified about bringing the story to the screen. "It was terrifying," Gerwig said on Dua Lipa's At Your Service podcast. "I think there's something about starting from that place where it's like, 'Well, anything is possible!' I felt like a vertigo starting to write it. Like, where do you start? What would the story be?
“Polly Pocket was responsible for countless hours of childhood escapism for me. Polly gave me a little world of magic and storytelling autonomy, so it's quite poetic to tackle these same ideas now as a collaborating director with the brilliant Lily Collins, Robbie Brenner. , Mattel and MGM,” Dunham said, via Deadline. “I am very excited to assert my love for this historic property and also my deeply held belief that young women need smart and funny movies that speak to them without condescension.”
Other Mattel Films projects in development include "American Girl," "Barney," "Hot Wheels," "UNO" and "Masters of the Universe." She added that she had the full support of Mattel, which gave her full access to the Barbie files. "They really gave us their trust," Gerwig said.
Barbie and Her Pink Convertible will hit theaters on July 21, 2023.