It'a going to be one of the biggest films of 2023: Margot Robbie in the Barbie movie, directed and co-written by Oscar-nominee Greta Gerwig (the woman behind Lady Bird and the recent Little Women adaptation).
Margot - who will also be a producer - previously said about the role, 'it comes with a lot of baggage!' in an interview with British Vogue.
'And a lot of nostalgic connections. But with that come 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."'
The main trailer has FINALLY dropped, and we have a lot to say about it.
What have we learned from the Barbie Movie main trailer?
There’s a LOT to unpack.
We discover how Margot Robbie’s Barbie ends up heading out of Barbieland and into the Real World. It seems that it all starts when she asks her fellow Barbies during a dance party if they’ve ever thought about dying – cue the comical record scratch moment.
More strange things continue to happen, not least Barbie’s heels no longer being arched off the ground. Somehow, she seems to be becoming more connected to the Real World. So, she decides to go, and Ken (Ryan Gosling) decides to tag along.
We see Barbie reconcile herself with this new world – it even looks like her and Ken end up getting arrested!
Will Ferrell plays the CEO of Mattel (the manufacturer of Barbie) and looks like he may be a villain of sorts as he scrambles to get Barbie “back in her box”. It looks like there could be a Barbie and Ken hunt of sorts going on.
We can’t wait to see more.
Who else will star in the Barbie Movie?
In April, a teaser was dropped and the official Barbie movie Instagram dropped some more character info. The new teaser dropped as the official Barbie movie Instagram dropped some more character info. Alongside Margot and Ryan Gosling as Ken, Kate McKinnon stars as a Barbie who's seen betters days, Issa Rae will star as a President Barbie, Nicola Coughlan is a Diplomat Barbie, Alexandra Shipp is a 'Celebrate Author' Barbie, while Rita Arya plays a Barbie with a Pulitzer. Other cast confirmed include Simu Like as another Ken, Ncuti Gatwas also as a Ken, and Michael Cera... as Allen.
Another character drop runs down the 'human' characters in the movie including: America Ferrara, Ariana Greenblatt, Helen Mirren (the narrator), Will Ferrell, Conno Swindells (another Sex Education star) and comedian Jamie Demetriou aka Stath Lets Flats.
Other stars in the film include Will Ferrell, Emma Mackey, Connor Swindells, Nicola Coughlan, Emerald Fennell, Kate McKinnon, Michael Cera, Simu Liu, America Ferrera, Ncuti Gatwa, Issa Rae, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Rhea Perlman, Sharon Rooney, Scott Evans, Ana Cruz Kayne, Ritu Arya and Jamie Demetriou.
According to a recent Vogue interview, we also know that Gal Gadot was originally a hopeful to play Barbie, but it wasn’t to be as the actor was unavailable.
What's the plot of the Barbie movie?
The official plot synopsis reads as follows: ‘After being expelled from Barbieland for being a less than perfect-looking doll, Barbie sets off for the human world to find true happiness.’
While we don’t know all the ins and outs, it looks like Margot Robbie’s Barbie goes on a journey of self-discovery when she is inspired/convinced to leave Barbieland and go to the real world to find answers to questions she’s only just started asking about her existence.
Ken goes along with her, and the two grapple with the huge differences between Barbieland and the Real World, with Barbie manufacturer Mattel’s CEO (played by Will Ferrell) set on sending the dolls back where they came from.
When is the Barbie movie released?
Not long now – Barbie is scheduled for release on 21 July 2023.