Margot Robbie is Barbie and Ryan Gosling is Ken in the upcoming Greta Gerwig-directed film, which is expected to hit theaters next year.
Did Barbie just get some new famous friends?
Issa Rae and Michael Cera are joining the cast of director Greta Gerwig’s upcoming Barbie film, PEOPLE can exclusively reveal.
Barbie, which stars Margot Robbie as the ever-popular Mattel doll, will also feature Ryan Gosling as Barbie’s dashing beau Ken, along with America Ferrera, Simu Liu, Kate McKinnon and Will Ferrell. Production on the film is underway in the U.K.
Details around the film’s plot and characters are being kept under wraps, though The Hollywood Reporter said Ferrell, 54, will play the CEO of a toy company.
Robbie, 31, who is also producing the big screen comedy, previously told The Hollywood Reporter one of her goals is to subvert audience expectations with the film.
“The name itself, people immediately have an idea of, ‘Oh, Margot is playing Barbie, I know what that is,’ but our goal is to be like, ‘Whatever you’re thinking, we’re going to give you something totally different — the thing you didn’t know you wanted,’ ” she said back in December 2020.
Oscar nominee Gerwig, 38, is directing the film after making 2017’s Lady Bird and 2019’s Little Women. She and partner Noah Baumbach, who share 3-year-old son Harold, wrote the script together.
Barbie is expected to hit theaters next year.
Actor Hari Nef is pulling up to the Malibu dream house, landing a role in the feature film adaptation of “Barbie.”
Directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie as the iconic doll, Nef joins a steep bench of supporting players, including Ryan Gosling, Kate McKinnon, America Ferrera, Simu Liu and Will Ferrell.
Nef is a trailblazing, out trans performer who began as a fashion darling, going on to breakout roles in “Assassination Nation,” “Transparent” and the streaming adaption of Caroline Kepnes’ novels “You.”
Her role is under wraps in the Warner Bros. feature, written by Gerwig and her partner Noah Baumbach. Mattel and Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment are producers. Nef is represented by Gersh, Untitled Entertainment, IMG Models and Shelter PR.
In a 2021 interview with British Vogue, Robbie said that taking on Barbie “comes with a lot of baggage … and a lot of nostalgic connections. But with that comes a lot of exciting ways to attack it. 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.’”
Production began earlier this year in London, with a planned 2023 release. “Barbie” is one of many Mattel properties on the burner for feature adaptation. Projects based on the Magic 8 Ball, Hot Wheels, “Master of the Universe,” Polly Pocket, Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots and the throwback dolls Chatty Kathy and Besty Wetsy are all in production or development.
Ryan Gosling, Simu Liu and Kate McKinnon are already on board the Warner Bros. movie.
Will Ferrell has closed a deal to join Margot Robbie in Barbie, Warner Bros.’ all-star take on the Mattel toy icon.
Robbie is portraying the fashion-forward doll, topping a call sheet whose names range from Ryan Gosling and Simu Liu to Kate McKinnon and Alexandra Shipp to Emma Mackey and America Ferrera.
Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach wrote the script for the project, with Gerwig directing. Production is already underway.
Plot details are being kept in a Malibu dream house, but sources indicate that there is a meta aspect to the proceedings. Ferrell is said to be playing the CEO of a toy company that may or not be Mattel.
On top of acting, Robbie is producing the project via her LuckyChap banner alongside LuckyChap’s Tom Ackerley. Mattel Films’ Robbie Brenner and Paddington producer David Heyman are also producing.
Barbie will mark Ferrell’s first feature outing since 2020’s Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, made by Netflix. He recently appeared in Apple TV’s black comedy The Shrink Next Door with Paul Rudd.
The call list for Hollywood’s Barbie movie has grown longer than the Mattel icon’s resume. Since news broke that Margot Robbie would produce and star in the upcoming flick, fans have wondered what a live-action version of the Malibu princess’ world will look like.
Back in 2019, at the premiere of “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Robbie explained why Barbie is a character worth bringing to life. “I think it’s a great opportunity to put some positivity out in the world and a chance to be aspirational for younger kids,” she told Variety’s Marc Malkin.
Directed by Greta Gerwig, from a script the “Little Women” and “Lady Bird” filmmaker co-wrote with Noah Baumbach, the movie is a co-production by Warner Bros., Mattel and Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment banner. However, further information about the film has been limited, with details of its plot fantastically wrapped in plastic.
In an Aug. 2021 interview with British Vogue, Robbie teased that taking on Barbie simultaneously “comes with a lot of baggage … and a lot of nostalgic connections.”
“But with that come[s] a lot of exciting ways to attack it,” she told the mag. “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…’”
So here’s what we do know about what Robbie and Gerwig have in store:
LOS ANGELES: “A Quiet Place” child star Ariana Greenblatt is the latest to board Warner Bros’ “Barbie”, a film centred on the iconic doll line from Mattel. Directed by Greta Gerwig, the movie stars Margot Robbie in the title role and Ryan Gosling as Ken.
It is unknown who 14-year-old Greenblatt will be playing, reported Deadline.
Also part of the ensemble cast are America Ferrara, Kate McKinnon and Simu Liu.
Plot details are unknown and Gerwig co-wrote the script with her partner, filmmaker-writer Noah Baumbach.
Plot details are unknown and Gerwig co-wrote the script with her partner, filmmaker-writer Noah Baumbach.
Robbie Brenner also will produce “Barbie” through Mattel, as will David Heyman via Heyday Films. LuckyChap’s Josey McNamara and Mattel’s Ynon Kreiz are attached to executive produce the movie.
Greenblatt will next be seen in Eli Roth’s “Borderlands” adaptation and the thriller “65”, a Sony film.
EXCLUSIVE: The A-list ensemble for Warner Bros. Barbie movie continues to grow as sources tell Deadline that Kate McKinnon is set to join the cast of the new film centered on the iconic doll line starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. America Ferrara and Simu Liu are also on board with Greta Gerwig directing. Robbie is on board to play Barbie with Gosling set to play Ken. It is unknown who McKinnon will be playing.
Gerwig also co-wrote script with Noah Baumbach.
Plot details are unknown, but given Gerwig’s track record as a director, one can expect that this won’t be your typical take on the doll’s story. Robbie is producing the film under her LuckyChap Entertainment production banner along with LuckyChap’s Tom Ackerley. Robbie Brenner also will produce through Mattel, as will David Heyman via Heyday Films. LuckyChap’s Josey McNamara and Mattel’s Ynon Kreiz are executive producers.
The film marks a reunion for McKinnon and Robbie, who last appeared together in the Lionsgate drama Bombshell!. Besides still being busy with Saturday Night Live, McKinnon is also set to star as Carole Baskin in Peacock’s Tiger King series Joe vs. Carole. That series bows next month and premiered its first trailer during the Super Bowl.
Ryan Gosling and America Ferrera are also set for the Greta Gerwig-directed feature.
Simu Liu is gassing up his Malibu Dream Car.
Liu is in negotiations to join Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling and America Ferrera in the Barbie movie at Warner Bros.
Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach wrote the script for the long-gestating project, with Gerwig set to direct. Plot details are held tight to the pink vest, although it is known that Gosling is playing Ken.
Robbie is starring as Barbie and producing the project via her LuckyChap banner alongside LuckyChap’s Tom Ackerley. Mattel Films’ Robbie Brenner and Paddington’s David Heyman are also producing.
Liu is best known as Marvel superhero Shang-Chi. The Marvel Studios/Disney feature grossed $432 million at the global box office, one of the highest-grossing films of the pandemic. The actor had already gained a following thanks to work in Canadian sitcom Kim’s Convenience. He has two movies in the can, including romance One True Loves, starring opposite Hamilton star Phillipa Soo, and Lionsgate’s canine drama Arthur the King, with Mark Wahlberg.
EXCLUSIVE: America Ferrera is set to co-star opposite Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in Warner Bros’ Barbie, the studio’s movie centered on the classic doll line. Greta Gerwig is directing the pic, with Robbie playing the titular role and Gosling playing Ken. No word yet on who Ferrera will play.
Gerwig also co-wrote script with Noah Baumbach.
Plot details are unknown, but given Gerwig’s track record as a director, one can expect that this won’t be your typical take on the doll’s story. Robbie is producing the film under her LuckyChap Entertainment production banner along with LuckyChap’s Tom Ackerley. Robbie Brenner also will produce through Mattel, as will David Heyman via Heyday Films. LuckyChap’s Josey McNamara and Mattel’s Ynon Kreiz are executive producers.
Ferrera is set to make her feature directorial debut with an adaptation of Erika Sánchez’s bestselling novel I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, with Sánchez to serve as a co-producer on the film. She also has the anticipated Apple TV+ limited series We Crashed, which bows in March and also stars Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway.
Ferrera, who executive produced and directed episodes for Seasons 1 & 2 of Netflix’s Gentefied, is repped by CAA and Peikoff Mahan.
Not only is the Barbie movie happening, but the director-star pairing of Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie couldn’t be better.
We first reported in late 2016 that a big-screen adaptation of Mattel’s classic toy (now known for her outdated and unrealistic beauty ideal) was in the works. Sony had already commissioned and chucked different concepts, including one crafted by Diablo Cody and another meant to star Amy Schumer.
Then in July 2019, news broke that filmmaking partners Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, who sometimes, but not always, collaborate, had been hired to try to beat a story out of the world-famous IP that’s beloved by some and scorned by others for the body image havoc it has caused.
At that point, the studio was setting up the film as a vehicle for Robbie.
Now, there’s not only movement on the project but an announcement that Gerwig will direct. Speaking with British Vogue, Robbie said she was aware a Barbie film “comes with a lot of nostalgic baggage” and that some are eager to criticize, but hearing that Gerwig is writing and directing usually gets people to clam up. (Variety independently confirmed that Gerwig is set for the director’s chair on this one.)
No word yet on who will be playing Ken. (Editor’s note: Please be Adam Driver.)
Gerwig previously directed Little Women and Lady Bird and co-directed the aughts time capsule Nights and Weekends with Joe Swanberg. Gerwig and Baumbach, who are domestic partners of roughly a decade and parents of a young son, have collaborated on two other screenplays, Frances Ha and Mistress America. Gerwig also co-starred in Greenberg, which was co-written by Baumbach and his then-wife Jennifer Jason Leigh.
Before the plastic commodity comes to life, the couple will need to complete filming White Noise, in which Gerwig stars opposite Driver. Baumbach is adapting the lit major fave written by Don DeLillo in 1985, giving rise to expressions such as SIMUVAC and The Airborne Toxic Event.
