Barbie (film)

After being expelled from Barbieland for being a less-than-perfect doll, Barbie sets off to the real world to find true happiness.[2][3]

Margot Robbie (left) and Ryan Gosling (right) portray Barbie and Ken, respectively.

Additionally, America Ferrera,[15] Rhea Perlman,[8] John Cena, Ariana Greenblatt,[16] and Marisa Abela have been cast in undisclosed roles.[17]

Development on a film based on the Barbie toy line began in September 2009, when it was announced that Mattel had signed a partnership to develop the project with Universal Pictures and with Laurence Mark as producer, but nothing came to fruition.[18] In April 2014, Mattel teamed with Sony Pictures to produce the film, which would have Jenny Bicks writing the screenplay and Laurie Macdonald and Walter F. Parkes producing through the Parkes+MacDonald Image Nation banner they created. Filming at the time was anticipated to begin by the end of the year.[19] In March 2015, Diablo Cody was brought onto the project to rewrite the screenplay, and Amy Pascal joined the producing team.[20] Sony would again have rewrites done to the screenplay later that year, hiring Lindsey Beer, Bert V. Royal and Hillary Winston to write drafts.[21]

Barbie director Greta Gerwig (left) co-wrote the screenplay with her partner, Noah Baumbach.

In December 2016, Amy Schumer entered negotiations to star in the title role, with the Winston screenplay being used that would be rewritten by Schumer and by Schumer’s sister, Kim Caramele.[22] In March 2017, due to scheduling conflicts with the planned June 2017 filming start, Schumer exited negotiations.[23] That July, Anne Hathaway was under consideration for the title role, with Sony hiring Olivia Milch to rewrite the screenplay and approaching Alethea Jones to direct as a means to interest Hathaway into signing on.[24] Jones was attached to direct by March 2018.[25] However, the expiration of Sony's option on the project in October 2018 and its transfer to Warner Bros. Pictures would see the departures of Hathaway, Jones, Macdonald, Parkes and Pascal. Margot Robbie would enter early talks for the role, with Patty Jenkins briefly considered for the director position.[26] Robbie's casting was confirmed in July 2019, with Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach now penning the screenplay.[4] Gerwig would sign on to also direct the film in July 2021.[27] Robbie stated that the film's aim is to subvert expectations and give audiences "the thing you didn't know you wanted."[28] Helen Mirren narrated the film's trailer and also filmed a brief cameo for the film.[29]

In October, Ryan Gosling entered final negotiations to play Ken in the film.[5] Gosling and the rest of the cast were confirmed to star in the first half of 2022.[8] Principal photography began in March 2022 at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden in England and wrapped on July 21, 2022.[30] Rodrigo Prieto serves as cinematographer,[31] while Jacqueline Durran, who previously collaborated with Gerwig on Little Women (2019), serves as costume designer for the film.[32] Reshoots took place in Los Angeles in April 2023.[33]

Alexandre Desplat, who previously collaborated with Gerwig on Little Women (2019), was confirmed to be scoring the film in early September 2022.[34]

Despite fan expectations for the 1997 song "Barbie Girl" by pop band Aqua to appear in the film, Ulrich Møller-Jørgensen, manager for Aqua lead singer Lene Nystrøm, said that it was not used. Variety speculated that this was due to bad relations between Mattel and MCA Records, the song's American publisher, who engaged in a series of lawsuits over the song from 1997 to 2002.[35]

Barbie is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on July 21, 2023, taking over the original release date of Coyote vs. Acme.[36] Previous iterations of the project were originally set for: June 2, 2017;[37] May 12, 2017;[38] June 29, 2018;[39] August 8, 2018;[40] and May 8, 2020.[41]

The marketing campaign for Barbie began on April 26, 2022 when a first-look photo of the film was revealed at a Warner Bros. presentation at CinemaCon. Released to the public the following day, the image saw Robbie as Barbie, sitting behind the wheel of her iconic pink 1965 Chevrolet Corvette.[42] Shane Romanchick of Collider complimented Robbie's casting, stating: "This photo is just further proof that Robbie was made to play this role. She just looks like a Barbie doll come to life—it's almost uncanny".[43] On June 15, 2022, a second still featuring Gosling in costume as Ken was released.[44] Despite noting similarities between his look in the image and his previous roles, The Guardian asserted that "there is a very strong chance that this will be his [Gosling] defining role".[45]

The first teaser trailer for Barbie debuted during Thursday night screenings of Avatar: The Way of Water (2022). It featured a parody of the opening "Dawn of Man" sequence in Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, in which Robbie (clad in Barbie's original 1959 outfit) imitates an alien monolith whose influence on the history of dolls is narrated by English actress Helen Mirren.[46] Along with a theatrical poster, the teaser trailer was released to the public on December 16, 2022.[47] Rolling Stone praised the 2001 homage and vibrant colors of trailer, and remarked on its vague outlining of the plot: "One has to wonder when, or better yet how, it will all get shaken up".[48]

On April 4, 2023, twenty-four character posters of the several Barbies and Kens featured in the film—each tagged with brief descriptions—were shared on the Barbie's social media accounts.[49] Empire remarked: "You might have thought that Multiverse fever would be constrained generally to comic book films and never-would-have-called-it Oscar winners. But […] it seems Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie will also be flooding the screen with variants, this time of plastic dolls Barbie and Ken".[50] A second teaser trailer was unveiled shortly after the release of the posters. It featured a rendition of The Beach Boys' 1964 surf rock song "Fun, Fun, Fun".[51] The Washington Post noted that the "visually striking" and "polysemic" teaser captivated multiple demographics because of its humor, color palette, and the Barbie doll's cross-generational appeal.[52]

American clothing retailer Gap is collaborating with Mattel on a Barbie apparel collection, set to launch on May 23, 2023 to coincide with the release of the film.[53] Ad Age noted: "Gap's timing couldn’t be better".[54]

• Barbie at IMDb