Margot Robbie Did Not Think ‘Barbie’ Movie Would Happpen

Margot Robbie once worried the “Barbie” script was too good to ever find its way out of the box.

The star’s first read left her thinking studios were “never going to let us make this movie.”

The Warner Bros. project was first announced in 2019, but is now being released four years later.

Margot Robbie plays one of many Barbies in the upcoming “Barbie” movie and in an interview the “I, Tonya” actor said she was so impressed by Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach’s screenplay that she thought it would “never see the light of day.”

Robbie remembered thinking, “Ah! This is so good,” but that studios were “never going to let us make this movie.” Luckily, the project got the green light from toy giant Mattel and began filming in March 2022.

While “Barbie” hype reached new heights after the first full trailer for the film dropped last week, the cast and creative team are keeping plot details close to the chest.

Though “Barbie” seems bound to be a blockbuster now, the Mattel doll’s movie was almost shelved back in 2017. Comedian Amy Schumer was initially picked to write and star in the film but said that she left after realizing the studio, which was then Sony, “didn’t want to do it the way I wanted to do it.”

Gerwig’s version of “Barbie” cast a diverse collection of actors as the titular toy and her companion Ken. Dua Lipa, Issa Rae, Kate McKinnon and Hari Nef will all play versions of Barbie, while Ryan Gosling is just one in a crew of Kens that includes Simu Liu, Scott Evans, Ncuti Gatwa and Kingsley Ben-Adir.

Ryan Gosling is set to play Ken.

The film has landed another heavy hitter for its male lead. Blue Valentine actor Ryan Gosling is in final negotiations to play Barbie’s beau Ken. The Academy Award nominee has apparently been the studio’s only choice from the beginning, and he has now signed on after finding an opening in his schedule. With Gosling signing on, it looks like the long-awaited project can start filming in early 2022.

Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Hari Nef, and more have joined the film’s jam-packed cast.

Several cast announcements have been rolling out in the past few weeks, with several major stars joining Robbie and Gosling in the upcoming film. One surprising casting, Sex Education star Emma Mackey, has drawn attention since she and Robbie look so similar. While no details from the plot have been released, the casting’s add more allure to Gerwig’s take on the Mattel doll.

So far, the cast includes Kate McKinnon, America Ferrera, Shang Chi star Simu Liu, Will Ferrell, And Just Like That‘s Hari Nef, Issa Rae, Michael Cera, Alexandra Shipp, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Rhea Perlman, Sex Education‘s Ncuti Gatwa, Oscar winner Emerald Fennell, Sharon Rooney, Scott Evans, Ana Cruz Kayne, Connor Swindells, Ritu Arya, and Jamie Demetriou.

There will be a big dance sequence.

While most of the cast has been tight-lipped on what to expect from the film, Shang Chi actor Simu Lu has revealed in several interviews that his role involves a huge dance scene. He first teased the dance where he shared that he was cast after telling Gerwig about his hip-hop dance experience.

“Greta was talking about how much she loved watching men dance, because it’s such an expression of artistry you’re not used to seeing from typical men,” he told the outlet.

Liu also mentioned filming the dance sequence, saying the set feels like the actors are just hanging out and having fun and dancing.” Though he didn’t mention who else is involved in the scene, there are new rumors for some unconfirmed parts.

If the chatter is true, Liu will actually be playing another version of Ken, along with confirmed Ken Ryan Gosling and second rumoured Ken (and confirmed Doctor Who) Ncuti Gatwa. There may also be multiple Barbies, with both Issa Rae and Hari Nef playing versions of the doll. Basically, whatever you thought could happen in this jam-packed film, it’s time to think bigger.

There’s a whopping 24 official posters featuring the full cast.

Fans got a first look at the full cast for Barbie where the film’s official social media channels shared 24 individual posters featuring the core cast of Barbies, Kens, and humans! The new posters confirmed some long rumored casting decisions including Dua Lipa as a “mermaid” Barbie.

The trailer promises a subversive satire

“Since the first little girl ever existed, there have been dolls,” a voice narrates in the opening shot in the first teaser trailer for Barbie. The camera pans over little girls sitting desolately in a desert. “But the dolls were always and forever baby dolls, until…”

Enter Robbie, who appears as a giant first iteration of the Mattel doll from 1959, complete with a pin-up ponytail and a black-and-white striped swimsuit.

Fans should find their finest pinks before “Barbie” steps into theaters on July 21, 2023.