With a new trailer and a single from the film by pop icon Dua Lipa out today, anticipation for Greta Gerwig‘s “Barbie” is at an all-time high. But there are still under two months to wait before the blockbuster hits theaters, so brace yourselves, cinephiles: plenty of more “Barbie” stories on the way. First up? Star Margot Robbie told British Vogue that she and Gerwig leaned into the “multiplicity of Barbies” in their casting process, which they “an expansive idea of self that we could all learn from.” But despite a wide variety of Barbies in the upcoming film, Robbie couldn’t make her dream casting happen due to scheduling conflicts.
So who was Robbie’s dream actress for playing a Barbie? None other than Gal Gadot, who Robbie thinks embodies the “Barbie energy” she and Gerwig were looking for. (Of course, that’s not to be confused with the “ken-ergy” Ryan Gosling brings to his role as Ken). Said Robbie about the actress: “Gal Gadot is Barbie energy. Because Gal Gadot is so impossibly beautiful, but you don’t hate her for being that beautiful, because she’s so genuinely sincere, and she’s so enthusiastically kind, that it’s almost dorky. It’s like right before being a dork.”
Unfortunately, Gadot wasn’t available to play any of the Barbie roles Gerwig and husband Noah Baumbach cooked up in their script. So, instead of Gadot, here’s the Barbie line-up to expect in “Barbie” on July 21: Issa Rae, Hari Nef, Emma Mackey, Dua Lipa, Sharon Rooney, Ana Cruz Kayne, Alexandra Shipp, Kate McKinnon, and others. And of course, Robbie leads the pack as Stereotypical Barbie, although Rae is the ostensible leader of the Barbie pack as President Barbie.
And course, with multiple Barbies come multiple Kens. While Gosling plays Robbie’s Ken, others include Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, Kingsley Ben-Adir, John Cena, and Scott Evans. Other cast members for “Barbie” include Will Ferrell, Rhea Perlman, Michael Cera, Conor Swindell, and more.
As for Gadot, she responded to Robbie’s comments in British Vogue in an Instagram story yesterday, saying “I’M IN FOR THE NEXT ONE SISTER!!! CAN’T WAIT TO WATCH IT!” So if “Barbie” does well in theaters (and, let’s face it, it will do very very well), maybe Gadot will come board as a Barbie of her own in a potential sequel. Take a look at the new trailer for “Barbie” below.