When the first stills from Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” dropped earlier this spring, no one was surprised by its pastel pink polish and Margot Robbie’s dollish look. No criticisms here: Robbie looks great in the image, and the aesthetic is pretty much what everyone expected from one of next year’s most anticipated films. But today on Twitter, Warner Bros. dropped a still of Ryan Gosling‘s Ken and, oh man, this needs to be seen to be believed.
Gosling is not only bleach blonde but also rocking what could be best described as 2000s boy band garb in the first look photo. He’s tan and shirtless beneath a sleeveless jean jacket vest and wears Cavin Klein-inspired underwear beneath his jeans. So, not just a double denim disaster, but a full-on Backstreet Boys/N’Sync heartthrob vibe going on.
Of course, it’s way too early to tell what this means for “Barbie” as it’s still in production, but Gosling’s look doesn’t track quite as well as Robbie’s in general approval. Look, we still trust that Gerwig and co-writer Noah Baumbach know what they’re doing where, but if this doesn’t raise your eyebrows, maybe you listened to too much 98 degrees when you were younger?
Jokes aside, “Barbie” is one of 2023’s biggest films, and we’re all excited to see Gerwig’s follow-up to “Little Women.” Beyond Robbie and Gosling, “Barbie” also stars Michael Cera, Simu Liu, Issa Rae, Will Ferrell, Kate McKinnon, Hari Nef, and America Ferrera. Dua Lipa and Saoirse Ronan are also rumored to play other versions of Barbie. Warner Bros. eyes a July 21 release for the film next year.
Okay okay, one more: we had no idea “Barbie” was a sequel to “The Place Beyond The Pines“! Follow The Playlist for more updates on Gerwig’s new film in the coming months.