In three weekends, Greta Gerwig‘s “Barbie” squares off against Christopher Nolan‘s “Oppenheimer” for this summer’s big box-office battle. So which film will walk away victorious? Both movies boast stacked ensemble casts, but given its soundtrack, premise, and Margot Robbie as its lead, “Barbie” may be 2023’s movie to beat. But EW reports (via Time Magazine) that in spite of her leading role, Robbie didn’t want to do “Barbie” unless the film catered to the diversity of Mattel‘s doll line.
If Gerwig’s latest pic didn’t operate within the toy company’s model of multiple Barbies, “I don’t think I would have wanted to attempt to make a Barbie film,” the actress told Time in a new story. “I don’t think you should say, ‘This is the one version of what Barbie is, and that’s what women should aspire to be and look like and act like.'”
Right now, Mattel features 175 different Barbie dolls with various skin tones, hair types, and body shapes in its doll lineup, so Robbie has a point in her statements. But despite that, Mattel wanted Robbie in the lead role of Gerwig’s blockbuster. When Robbie approached the toy company through her LuckyChap banner in 2018 to make the film, Mattel COO and president Richard Dickson knew he wanted the actress to play the titular “Stereotypical Barbie.” How come? Dickson saw Robbie as a way to “get audiences who haven’t followed Mattel’s latest update into theaters.”
“Of course, she looks like Barbie,” Dickson said to Time. “But they’re all Barbie. It’s the perfect cast to express what Barbie is today. And Margot is the bridge.” Issa Rae, who plays President Barbie in the film, agreed with Dickson’s statements and felt similarly to Robbie about how she wanted the movie done. “My worry was that it was going to feel too white feminist-y, but I think that it’s self-aware,” Rae said. “Barbie Land is perfect, right? It represents perfection. So if perfection is just a bunch of white Barbies, I don’t know that anybody can get on board with that.”
And “Barbie” features a multitude of Barbies (and Kens) in its ensemble cast. Along with Robbie, Rae, and Ryan Gosling as the lead Ken, Gerwig’s film also features pop music icon Dua Lipa as Mermaid Barbie, Kate McKinnon as Weird Barbie, Alexandra Shipp as Author Barbie, Nicola Coughlan as Diplomat Barbie, Emma Mackey as Physicist Barbie, and Sharon Rooney and Lawyer Barbie. Other Kens beyond Gosling include Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, Kingley Ben-Adir, John Cena, and Scott Evans. And beyond the scope of Barbie and Ken, “Barbie” also stars Will Ferrell, Colin Swendells, Michael Cera, America Ferrera, and Helen Mirren, providing the film’s voice-over.
All told, that’s a lot of Barbies and Kens, but that’s the point of Gerwig’s new film. “Barbie” hits theaters everywhere on July 21, courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures. Take a look at the film’s latest trailer below.